Beginning in fall 2027, Carroll's published undergraduate price will be 40 percent lower, with tuition set at $26,800.
This week, Carroll College announced an important change in how we present the cost of an undergraduate education. Beginning with the 2027-2028 academic year, traditional undergraduate tuition will be $26,800 and general undergraduate student fees will be eliminated. Together, those changes bring the published undergraduate price down from the current $44,712 in tuition and fees to $26,800.
The tuition reset gives families a clearer starting price and is the latest proactive step in our work to make Carroll more accessible and a realistic choice for more families. It changes how we structure and communicate tuition and financial aid, while preserving the quality, personal attention, and lifelong value of a Carroll education. Our campaign theme captures that commitment: New Price. Lifelong Value.
Why Carroll Is Resetting Tuition
Families are thinking about college differently than they have in the past. They are looking closely at cost, outcomes, and the return on their investment. Yet many see Carroll's published price and assume the college is beyond their reach before visiting campus, applying, or learning what they could pay after financial aid and scholarships.
That is difficult to hear because we know what those students are missing: faculty who will know them by name, a welcoming community, and an education that prepares them for a successful career and a meaningful life. Our net price calculator cannot help a family that has already ruled Carroll out. We want our published price to invite a closer look and provide a more honest picture from the beginning.
How the New Model Works
Like many private colleges, Carroll has long used a model that pairs a high published tuition with significant institutional scholarships and grants. Over time, the gap between the listed price and the amount many families actually pay became unnecessarily wide and difficult to interpret. The reset replaces that structure with a lower published tuition and institutional aid recalibrated around the new amount.
A tuition reset is a strategic repricing, not a new 40 percent reduction in every student's out-of-pocket cost. Scholarships and financial aid will continue. Because the tuition base will be lower, fixed-dollar resources such as Pell Grants, outside scholarships, 529 savings, and family contributions will cover a larger share of tuition. Donor-funded scholarships will also reach further.
The lower published tuition will make Carroll more competitive with other colleges and universities across Montana and the region. It will also help more families see that the personalized experience of a private college can be a realistic option. The reset applies to traditional undergraduate programs. Because graduate and post-baccalaureate programs have separate tuition structures, they are not included in the reset. Their pricing is reviewed independently, and Carroll has made targeted adjustments in recent years to improve affordability and keep these programs competitive.
Carroll is also expanding its Pell Promise nationwide for eligible first-time freshmen and transfer students. The program fully covers tuition for qualifying federal Pell-eligible students who meet its criteria. This expansion reflects our mission to broaden access and provide educational opportunities for students from all backgrounds.
What Current Students Can Expect
Current students will transition to the new tuition model in fall 2027. Their institutional scholarships and grants, including activity awards, will be recalibrated to align with the lower tuition. Although some award amounts will be lower, tuition and institutional aid are being adjusted proportionally.
Assuming their circumstances and enrollment remain unchanged, current students and families can expect to pay about the same amount they would have paid under the existing tuition and aid structure, and likely less than if tuition had increased at a typical annual rate. Individual costs may vary based on housing, meal plan, credit load, and other enrollment factors.
Each current student has received a personalized comparison showing how the current and new models apply to their account. Our Financial Aid staff is available to review individual circumstances and answer questions.
The Carroll Experience Will Not Change
No academic programs, student services, or co-curricular opportunities will be reduced as a result of the reset. Students will continue to benefit from strong academics, close faculty mentorship, small classes, and a supportive community where they are known and encouraged to grow. They will continue to learn through undergraduate research, internships, clinical experiences, leadership, and service.
Carroll’s liberal arts education prepares students to think critically and creatively, solve complex problems, communicate clearly, work constructively with others, and lead ethically. Employers regularly tell us that they can teach the specific tasks required for a position. Judgment, adaptability, communication, and the ability to work through difficult problems are much harder to teach, and those are strengths Carroll graduates bring with them.
Our graduates' strong professional and graduate-school outcomes reflect that preparation, as does the robust alumni community they join. One alumnus, a respected Montana physician, once described Carroll's impact in especially meaningful terms. Carroll prepared him well for his profession, he said, but its greater influence could be seen in the husband and father he had become. That captures what we seek to provide: an education that prepares students for their work and asks them to reflect seriously on who they are becoming and how they will contribute to others.
A Carefully Planned Step
Carroll began exploring a tuition reset in November 2024. Since then, we have studied market research, national tuition-reset models, enrollment data, and detailed financial projections. The Board of Trustees approved the new model in May 2026 following that careful analysis. We have also reviewed admission requirements, response times, financial aid timelines, housing, and academic capacity so that we are ready to welcome and support more students well.
We know that a new price alone will not determine Carroll's future. The reset is part of a broader, multiyear effort to simplify admission and financial aid, create additional educational pathways and graduate programs, strengthen student support, expand scholarship opportunities, develop career-aligned programs, and deepen regional partnerships. We will measure progress through applications, enrollment, retention, student success, and broader awareness of Carroll throughout Montana and the Mountain West.
Looking Ahead
The tuition reset gives Carroll a more realistic position in the market and a clearer way to communicate the value of our education. It is designed to encourage more students to consider Carroll and support healthy enrollment. Welcoming more students will strengthen the college, expand the alumni community, and reinforce the reputation and enduring value of a Carroll degree.
We will continue to evaluate the results carefully and adapt as needed. Our focus will remain on welcoming students well, supporting them throughout their Carroll experience, and preparing them for successful careers and meaningful lives.
The price on paper is changing, but the Carroll experience is not. This change gives more students and families the opportunity to discover that experience for themselves.
Learn more and read frequently asked questions at carroll.edu/value. Questions may be directed to tuition@carroll.edu.
