At 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, Bovard Hall was teeming with people anxiously awaiting USC President Carol Folt’s annual State of the University Address.
Amid political tensions, a recently announced increase in tuition and the reinstatement of the Academic Achievement Award, Folt’s speech gave the president a chance to address student body concerns that she had been criticized for ignoring in the past.
But most of the answers to questions about these issues came during an interview with student journalists in Folt’s office after the actual speech.
One of these concerns was the Academic Achievement Award (AAA) being revoked and reinstated. On March 8, the university announced that the AAA — which provided funding for students pursuing multiple degrees to enroll in up to 21 units at the standard full-time tuition rate — would be discontinued.
On March 15, after a petition calling for its reinstatement circulated on campus, the award was brought back for students graduating in spring 2025 or earlier. Yesterday, the university reinstated the award for all students.
“We just sat down and took a breath and said, ‘Right, this is one of the more important programs,’” Folt said during an interview after the speech. “I feel really good that we said, ‘In that case, we’re changing our mind.’ We’re not afraid to change our mind.”
The original decision faced significant backlash from students who relied on the award to continue their studies.
“My academic plan was made with AAA. If I want to graduate [now], I have to go more in debt,” said Coby Russo, a sophomore studying public relations and theater in a previous interview with Annenberg Media. “I can’t graduate with my double major in four years without [the AAA scholarship.]”
Folt also addressed the recent 4.9% increase in tuition, which brought the estimated cost of USC attendance close to $100,000 yearly. She said that this choice was made to offset increasing expenses and inflation.
“We’re still like everyone else recovering from major expenses, not just COVID,” she said after the address. “But our legacy issues and inflation, and a drive for more financial aid and higher wages. I think those are the main financial pressures.”
This change is similar to last year’s 5% increase. Folt also cited the school’s free Lyft problem as a motivator for the hike.
“We’re trying to pay back the costs of all these programs, you know, we’ve tripled the amount of mental health [programs] and the Lyft program has skyrocketed,” she said. “So our costs in many cases have gone up even beyond the cost of inflation. So it’s only through tuition…it covers increasing costs that we have.”
Since the fall, Folt has also been criticized for the university’s relative silence regarding the Israel-Hamas war. Her initial statement on the Oct. 7 attacks did not explicitly name Hamas, which was later amended after uproar from the community.
Prior to her speech, approximately 10 faculty members protested at Bovard, holding a banner that read “USC faculty against the genocide in Palestine.” The protestors were standing in a half circle holding images of Palestinians who died in the war.
Folt addressed the protest before her speech and said that she acknowledged the protester’s voices. She also told Annenberg Media about the university’s efforts to combat hate.
“We have a committee that meets every single morning, eight o’clock in the morning, to try to anticipate what is happening so we can talk to students,” she said after the speech. “Talking to people, or doing events where people have a chance to learn, is really important. Only hate breeds hate. So we try very hard while understanding anger and frustration to have these conversations.”
During the speech, Folt spotlighted the university’s successes in the past year. She highlighted USC’s successful admissions tactics, like the community college transfer program and a strong budget. She commended the women’s basketball team for making it to the Sweet 16, and she discussed a new building for the USC School of Dramatic Arts that will have a ribbon cutting soon. She also said the university is working to rebuild its reserve after the effects of the pandemic.