2008 Woodie Awards
Board approves annual tuition hike
James Spung, Managing Editor
Issue date: 2/27/07
Last Updated: 8/9/07
These increases, in turn, require increases in tuition and mandatory fees.
Sixty-eight percent of the college's total operating income - 91.5 percent of which is revenue from student expenses - is used to pay the salaries and benefits for faculty and administration, controller Luz Merkel said.
The remaining revenue is put towards operating expenses, which include utilities, building maintenance and repairs, student board expenses, taxes and licenses.
The higher student expenses are not new to this year. For the past 10 years, the typical increase in tuition and fees has been between 5 and 7 percent per year, Soden said.
The administration is not afraid to share the details of its decision-making process in terms of the tuition increases, Soden said, adding that most people would generally make the same decisions.
"Ninety-five percent of the questions we get are, 'I wish we could spend more money on this,' not 'We're spending too much money on this'," Soden said.
The tuition increase was approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, which convened in a special session in January. The increase was recommended by a cabinet, including Merkel and President Bill Robinson, before being submitted to the Board.
One concern among students who receive merit-based financial aid packages beginning their first year in attendance is that these scholarships, which are valued at a set amount for each year, do not increase proportionally with tuition.
In other words, the scholarships - which are guaranteed over four years as long as the student's grade-point average remains above a certain threshold - cover proportionally less of total student expenses as tuition, fees, room and board increase each year.
"What we know is that we have a lot more departmental scholarships available at the junior and senior level that attempt to compensate," Soden said.
Whitworth also makes a point to guarantee the scholarships for four years, something many institutions do not do, Soden said.
Sixty-eight percent of the college's total operating income - 91.5 percent of which is revenue from student expenses - is used to pay the salaries and benefits for faculty and administration, controller Luz Merkel said.
The remaining revenue is put towards operating expenses, which include utilities, building maintenance and repairs, student board expenses, taxes and licenses.
The higher student expenses are not new to this year. For the past 10 years, the typical increase in tuition and fees has been between 5 and 7 percent per year, Soden said.
The administration is not afraid to share the details of its decision-making process in terms of the tuition increases, Soden said, adding that most people would generally make the same decisions.
"Ninety-five percent of the questions we get are, 'I wish we could spend more money on this,' not 'We're spending too much money on this'," Soden said.
The tuition increase was approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, which convened in a special session in January. The increase was recommended by a cabinet, including Merkel and President Bill Robinson, before being submitted to the Board.
One concern among students who receive merit-based financial aid packages beginning their first year in attendance is that these scholarships, which are valued at a set amount for each year, do not increase proportionally with tuition.
In other words, the scholarships - which are guaranteed over four years as long as the student's grade-point average remains above a certain threshold - cover proportionally less of total student expenses as tuition, fees, room and board increase each year.
"What we know is that we have a lot more departmental scholarships available at the junior and senior level that attempt to compensate," Soden said.
Whitworth also makes a point to guarantee the scholarships for four years, something many institutions do not do, Soden said.
For this reason, The Whitworthian asks readers to be responsible and respectful in any comments posted. The responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not the whitworthian.com. Readers are also encouraged to report questionable comments by e-mailing editor@whitworthian.com.
Be the first to comment on this story