HUNTSVILLE — During a meeting of the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees on Friday, Interim Chancellor Finis “Fess” St. John IV announced that the board will propose a system-wide tuition freeze for in-state students in the 2020-2021 academic year.

The proposal will officially be heard at the board’s June meeting and is expected to be approved at that time. The freeze would cover all system campuses: the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH).

This would be the first time this century that all three campuses freeze tuition rates for in-state students.

Announcing the proposal at the UAH Student Services Building, St. John stressed that a freeze for in-state students comes from an issue that has been a “great emphasis and importance” to the board for a long time, but financial realities have finally allowed the goal to come to fruition.

“We’ve talked a lot about accountability the last year – how we must be mindful of the resources we receive, how we must make sure a college education is affordable and accessible to our students, how the education students receive at our universities is worth the cost,” he advised.

St. John said, “For the first time in over 40 years, all three of our campuses will have no increase in tuition for our Alabama students.”

He added that for the board, this has been “an elusive and important goal.”

St. John emphasized that he is “very proud” that the board will finally achieve that end.

He also had a message to students, parents and taxpayers: “We hear you, we will continue to listen to and be responsive to your concerns in the months and the years to come.”

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn