What does the One Price Promise at University of the Cumberlands include?

The One Price Promise is the University of the Cumberlands' all-inclusive tuition model: instead of billing separately for textbooks, technology, and academic support, the university bundles those costs into a single published price. According to the university's website, the promise covers "everything" with "zero fine print or exceptions." The exact list of what's included depends on whether you're an on-campus undergraduate, an online undergraduate, a graduate student, or an executive-format student.

What's included by student type

The university presents four pricing tracks, each with its own included items:

The core idea: one price, no separate line items

The model's selling point is transparency. Rather than quoting a base tuition rate and then adding course materials, technology charges, and support services on top, Cumberlands folds them into the figure you see. The university frames this as "one price for everything, all included, even course materials."

Two details are worth noting:

• Textbooks are included across all tracks. The university runs a Free Textbook Program as part of the promise, so students don't buy course materials separately.
• The on-campus track is the broadest. Housing, dining, parking, laundry, and student health appear only in the on-campus pricing context — they aren't listed for the online, graduate, or executive tracks, which makes sense since those students aren't living on campus.

What this means for judging cost transparency

If your main question is whether the advertised price is the real price, the One Price Promise is designed to answer yes for the items listed above. You can compare tracks directly because each one states a single rate and names what it includes.

A few practical caveats:

• "Or less" and "average" qualifiers matter. The on-campus figure is listed as "$19,175 or less," and the graduate figure is an "average program cost." Your actual total can differ from the headline number.
• The promise covers listed items, not every possible cost. Anything not named in the relevant track — for example, costs specific to a program or personal expenses — isn't addressed by the promise itself.
• Verify your specific program. With more than 55 majors and multiple formats, confirm the current rate and inclusions for your exact program before relying on the general figures.

The university also states it holds regional accreditation, with many programs accredited beyond that — relevant if you need to confirm credentials alongside cost.

For the most current numbers and inclusions, check the university's One Price Promise page directly, since published rates can change by term.