The proposed South Carolina state budget calls for an increase in recurring funds for Coastal Carolina University, and CCU officials plan to use the funding to give full-time, in-state students a $100 credit per semester on their tuition for the 2018-2019 academic year.

"When the CCU board of trustees increased tuition by 3 percent back in May, we were not sure that the state was going to increase the University's recurring funds," said David Frost, interim chief financial officer and vice president of finance at CCU. "Previously, the increase would have meant an additional $168 per semester for in-state students. This tuition credit puts $100 per semester back in their pockets, reducing the increase from 3 percent to 1.21 percent."

"Coastal is pleased to be able to give back to our full-time, in-state students these additional funds appropriated by the South Carolina legislature," said David A. DeCenzo, president of CCU. "Working together, we will be able to keep tuition affordable for South Carolina students."

The CCU board of trustees has made the cost of tuition and fees a primary consideration in every decision made by the board in recent years. Housing fees have not increased for the past four years as a result of a property refinance plan initiated in 2014.

"Coastal has steadfastly strived to keep tuition and other increases at a minimum," said J. Ralph Byington, provost and executive vice president of CCU. "As CCU continues to receive support from the state, we will continue to pass that on to our students."

Coastal receives less than 6 percent of its total operating budget from state appropriations.