Polk Times

College tuition fees rose 5% in Polk County in the 2022-23 school year, according to the latest disclosure from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Data shows that students paid $19,604 on average to attend higher education courses at the time, $938 more than the previous school year.

Among the 11 institutions in the county, Florida Southern College stood out with the highest tuition fees, reaching an average of $40,500. Webber International University followed with an average of $30,798 per year. Traviss Technical College students were offered the lowest annual tuition fees at $625.

At the time, a total of $51.9 million in grants or scholarships were awarded to full-time undergraduates who started at the Polk County universities in the 2022-23 school year. Additionally, federal student loans reached $13.1 million.

Currently there are 11 higher education institutions in Polk County, including Southeastern University, Webber International University, and Polk State College.

Undergraduate education costs have seen a significant increase over the past few decades. Data shows a 169% rise in the average total cost, including tuition, fees, room, and board, between 1980 and 2020.

According to a 2023 College Board report, in-state students at public universities paid an average of $11,260, while out-of-state students paid $29,150 in the 2023-24 academic year.

Meanwhile, student loan debt has steadily increased over the last 30 years, reaching $1.75 trillion in 2024, averaging a total of $28,950 per borrower. Federal loans make up 92% of the debt, with over half of students at both public and private four-year colleges graduating with student loans.

Available data sometimes exceeds 100% due to rounding and administrative calculations.

Institution	Number of Students Receiving Grants	Total Amount of Grants Received	Average Amount of Grant Per Student	Number of Students Receiving Loans	Total Amount of Loans Received	Average Amount of Loans Per Student
Artistic Nails and Beauty Academy-Lakeland	36	$122,060	$3,391	33	$169,506	$5,137
Warner University	240	$4,785,125	$19,938	183	$1,312,174	$7,170
Florida Polytechnic University	433	$4,013,375	$9,269	125	$723,252	$5,786
Southeastern University	889	$14,344,209	$16,135	731	$5,476,793	$7,492
Ruben's Five Star Academy	11	$59,801	$5,436	11	$72,241	$6,567
Traviss Technical College	168	$857,188	$5,102	0	$0	$0
Florida Southern College	751	$20,054,524	$26,704	442	$3,703,415	$8,379
Empire Beauty School-Lakeland	43	$197,123	$4,584	48	$366,250	$7,630
Webber International University	218	$3,920,488	$17,984	176	$1,208,076	$6,864
Polk State College	448	$2,353,538	$5,253	23	$67,209	$2,922
Ridge Technical College	285	$1,176,600	$4,128	0	$0	$0