At the beginning of spring semester, the college released the undergraduate costs for next year. The email sent to students explaining costs for the school year of 2024-2025 lays out the basics of what students need to know. Then, NCC announced its selection for a grant that assists students with housing and insecurity. Taken together, there are new financial concerns and opportunities for students to be aware of.
Tuition changes
The email sent to all undergraduate students explains the increases for next semester. Tuition will increase by 3%, meals and housing by less than 2% and the additional student wellness and activity fees will remain the same. Last year, the 2023-2024 tuition increased by 2.91%, with the meal costs increasing by a significant 11.15%. Housing costs remained unchanged from prior years, which marked a third year of these frozen costs.
“The most significant factors in considering tuition increases are inflation, and the cost of providing services,” said Maryellen Skerik, Vice President for Finance.
After reaching out with some questions, Skerik explained that inflation and costs of services account for the increase. The money gained from this growth will go towards the operation of the college. This includes things such as staffing, maintenance, cleaning and utilities. These costs of services are also the reason that, unlike last year, housing costs will not remain frozen. In the past NCC held housing costs flat to minimize the impact of increases in meals and housing on student. However, doing so this year would negatively impact other services of the college.
“The overall student experience and students’ financial situations are always top of mind when making these decisions. The college is aware that any cost increase, however justified, impacts students and their families,” said Skerik.
Despite this growth in student costs next year, Skerik states that NCC has managed to keep the percentage increase below the national average. While evidence of this has not been found, looking at last years’ costs, there is support for this statement. According to data provided by the College Board and Forbes, the increase in average private non-profit college tuition and fees for 2023-2024 was 4%. Compared to the 2.91% facing students at NCC, Skerik’s statement has support at least for last year’s cost increases. Despite this, in conversation with students, they have expressed interest in seeing a breakdown of where their tuition is being spent.
“It’d be interesting to see where tuition is going,” said Zack Senall, ’26.
Financial assistance
In the beginning of Feb., Jessica Brown, vice president for student affairs and athletics, released an email to students sharing NCC selection by the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) for a grant. This End Student Housing Insecurity (ESHI) grant is meant to help the college support students with housing and basic needs insecurities. According to information provided by Brown, it is part of Illinois’ higher education plan. This plan hopes to close equity gaps through “learning renewal and student support needs.”
“We know our students’ need is high. This grant allows us to remove barriers to student retention and success and to positively impact our students’ lives,” said Brown.
Different departments and staff members worked collaboratively to acquire this grant. Brown credits Reverend Eric Doolittle, the college chaplain, with finding this opportunity while acting as their division’s grant seeker. Working as the project manager, Brown aims to ensure adherence to the grant’s requirements and helps to execute the process.
“Having the ability to buy laptops, book vouchers and/or support students’ personal needs helps tremendously. We anticipate this grant will positively impact students in a variety of ways, including retention, mental health & well-being and overall sense of belonging,” said Brown.
