At its quarterly meeting today, Coastal Carolina University's Board of Trustees approved a motion to request an additional $3 million in state appropriations in order to avoid increasing in-state tuition for the 2014-2015 academic year. CCU has not raised in-state tuition for two consecutive years.

"The CCU administration and the board strive to keep tuition affordable without sacrificing the quality of education that we offer," said Wyatt Henderson, chairman of the board of trustees. "Through careful financial stewardship and smart planning, we've been able to achieve this goal for two years, and this increase in appropriations will enable us to offer our in-state students a third consecutive year with no tuition increase."

The board also approved the establishment of the Trustees' Award for Accelerated Degree Completion. All CCU students who complete their degree in three years will be eligible for the $5,000 award, which is designed to improve retention and graduation rates. All credits must be earned at CCU, excluding credits earned in high school that transfer to CCU, such as AP and PACE programs. University officials believe the award will attract high achieving students, enhance student loyalty, discourage student transfers to other schools and increase summer school attendance.

The board approved a new graduate program, the Education Specialist (Ed.S.) in Education Leadership. The program is designed to provide advanced professional studies in graduate-level coursework for educators interested in becoming school district-level leaders and administrators or who wish to develop their professional skills.

The board also received and accepted the institution's annual audit, prepared and presented by Cline Brandt Kocheower & Co., P.A. For the sixth consecutive year, CCU received a clean and unmodified opinion. The term "unmodified opinion" means that the institution's financial condition and operations are fairly presented in its financial statements and the auditor has no significant reservation respecting matters contained in the financial statements.