Financial decisions concerning tuition at North Central College have students asking questions about the value of their education and updates to the campus.
Last March, President Troy Hammond, initiated his second increase in student tuition in less than a year, raising the cost of attendance by 5%. The total cost of attending the College for one school year is now approximately $44,000, leading students to question if the grounds of this decision are equal to the value of their education. Some reasons behind these student concerns include new academic renovations and construction that most students attending the College will not be able to access.
“I don’t think having this increase is necessary,” said freshman Shelby Lauzon. “The science center won’t be finished until 2017, so we’re having to pay for something that most of us won’t get to use.”
No matter what it could be, students cannot help but worry if their tuition payments and their overall education are a true give-and-take concept.
“While there are many reasons for it, it’s always a struggle to pay for college,” said freshman Libby Horvath. “ It will only further deter students from pursuing their education.”
Although many of the students attending the College are not impressed by this financial decision, President Hammond explained the behind-the-scenes reasoning for this conclusion.
“The tuition has increased every year for decades,” said President Hammond. “However, in the last 2-3 years, we have been slightly below average at the core, around the 2% range.”
Dean of Financial Aid, Marty Rossman, adds on that these decisions are not uncommon to small, private colleges like North Central.
“This is a common practice amongst private institutions,” said Rossman. “A private institution is 100% tuition dependent. This means that we are not like state institutions that get a portion of their operating budget from tax dollars.”
President Hammond explained some of the important categories of cost that influence tuition discussions with the Board of Trustees.
“When it comes to utilities, we spend about $2 million every year on things like electricity, gas, and water, which boosts the CPI (Consumer Price Index) value way above average,” President Hammond said. “Another would be technology. We try to keep up with the demands from students and faculty such as the Wi-Fi, bandwidth and usage in the classrooms. This is a factor that grows very quickly.”
The investment in new and current faculty and staff is also a key component in determining the College’s cost. President Hammond plans to introduce 15 new full-time faculty members next fall.
“Our school has grown a lot and we want to be able to keep up with delivering the best as well as being able to pay them well,” said President Hammond. “Our faculty works their tails off and they deserve to be rewarded.”
Some other components that President Hammond will focus on include maintaining the health and safety of the all-around campus with the help from Dyson Wellness Center and Campus Safety, and recruiting the incoming freshmen class and other potential North Central students.
New additions to the College campus have also been intriguing President Hammond as he continues to help the College catch up to larger and more technologically advanced institutions. President Hammond plans, in the future, to renovate and upgrade various campus buildings including installing a new computer lab in the Oesterle Library and recreating a new “look, feel and design” for Kaufman Dining Hall.
“When we make a tuition decision, we make an effort to maintain and put new investments into where they need to go,” President Hammond said.
Rossman feels confident that the results from these new projects will satisfy the student’s expectations of upgrading the campus.
“When students see improvements being made on campus and the high quality of education they’re receiving, I would hope they understand why we charge what they do,” said Rossman.
As far as hearing what the reactions of students, staff and faculty have been about this financial increase, President Hammond carefully considers making sure that they all have a say as to whether a large decision concerning tuition and other concerns should happen.
“Faculty and staff know about decisions like this one and review it,” said President Hammond. “The reaction is of understanding reason, thought, and concerned reactions of students to come up with the money. I receive emails as well as messages from social media from students so that also goes into consideration.”
There is also concern of the effect of this tuition increase for the 2014-2015 school year and questions of whether or not this decision could lose students attending the College and potential students.
“We don’t anticipate losing students because of this,” said Rossman. “I have gone through many years of tuition increases and I don’t anticipate a fallout. The Office of Financial Aid will continue to support students and their families. If a particular students is having difficulty covering their balance, we are here to explore every possible option.”
“Part of the thought-process is that we care about the students and we want them to graduate from here,” President Hammond said. “There will be individuals who are pushed at the edge and there’s other with family situations. We hope that we won’t ever have to lose anyone, but we understand that this decision puts him or her at a risk to decide if they want to stay. It would be nice to keep everything flat but we hope that students realize the value in this investment and that it’s what makes the education here worth it.”
