The Board of Trustees approved a five percent increase in tuition for the 2006-2007 school year this weekend, which brings the tuition cost to $34,630. Coupled with an eight percent increase in the average cost of a room and a five percent increase in board, the overall base cost to students next year will be at least $44,384.
Many students will pay over $45,000 depending on housing choices, dining choices, books, and other expenses. If the decision is made in favor of furnishing senior woodframe houses, it will cost an additional $200 for residents.
“Things get more expensive,” said Interim Vice President for Finance and Treasurer John Meerts. “Salaries go up. This year was particularly a bad year for energy costs, and we will probably pay a million dollars more for energy than last year.”
Meerts cited the rising prices of oil and natural gas as reasons for increased energy spending, but stressed that the financial aid situation has not changed.
“We’re still need-blind,” he said. “We’re not the most expensive, but we’re certainly not the cheapest.”
The 5.4 percent overall cost increase is on par with peer schools, as is the five percent increase in tuition. Last year, overall costs increased by five percent, as room and board increased by 5.4 percent and tuition increased by 4.9 percent.
Director of Communications Justin Harmon explained why tuition is consistently increasing at this rate.
“In education, the rate of inflation is higher than the general rate of inflation,” Harmon said. “The cost of labor is at a high rate, and we’re unusually subject to [costs such as health benefits which constitute] the human value additive.”
Harmon also explained that the inflation of books and periodicals is higher than the general inflation rate, and health and safety problems in several dormitories need to be addressed over the summer.
“We will have proximity access systems in all dorms with 20 or more students, which is an important safety issue,” he said. “Tamper-proof windows [will be installed] on the first floor of Foss Hill dorms, and sprinklers will be added to residence halls.”
It appears that tuition will continue to rise at similar rates for the foreseeable future.
“[During the time] I’ve worked in higher education, I’ve never seen tuition and fees go down,” Meerts said. “We’re trying to save money by bringing endowment spending down to 6.4 percent next year. If we didn’t charge [this rate for] tuition, it would be harder to do.”
Harmon insists that the University is trying to save money in as many ways as possible.
“In addition to [energy saving projects] we need to continue fundraising, and we’ve got to find ways to build the endowment,” he said. “We need to take care of this other income source so we can cushion students and their families from year-to-year rising costs.”
For the 2005-2006 school year, tuition was $32,976 and the overall cost of a Wesleyan education ranged from $42,122 to over $43,000. This means that the cost of tuition next year will be include a $1,654 increase, and overall costs will increase by at least $2,262.
Leave a Reply