Freshmen are now guaranteed a set tuition for the next four and a half years due to the Illinois Truth in Tuition Act.

The act, signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich in July 2003, guarantees that students who enroll after the 2003-04 academic year have fixed tuition through their traditional senior year.

Kinga Mauger of NIU’s Bursar’s Office recommended that students watch the amount of credit hours they have and budget accordingly to graduate within the time frame. To meet the required 120 credit hours to graduate, Mauger said students should take 15 credit hours per semester over eight semesters.

Mauger also said tuition would increase if a student once received in-state tuition but later moved out of Illinois.

Holly Creamer, a freshman political science major, said the tuition freeze will be beneficial in helping students finish their education in a “speedy manner.”

Similarly, Kyle Hines, a freshman physics enroll after the 2003-04 academic year have major, said this will motivate students to complete their courses on time.

The tuition freeze does not cover students for any semesters beyond the four and a half years.

The NIU Board of Trustees has tried to keep increases in tuition down, Mauger said. Though NIU’s tuition rate has increased 4.2 percent annually over the past 10 years, Mauger said NIU’s tuition, in comparison to other schools, increased the least.

“I think this is going to be very good for students and will allow parents and students to plan,” Mauger said. “The more credit hours you take, the less the price. That’s a significant phasing. I think this was the reason behind the law.”