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Tuesday,
February 03, 2004
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Board
of Trustees approves tuition increase of 11.9%
Tuition
and housing costs will increase beginning fall 2004.
By
Lacey Krause
Staff Reporter
Tuition and fees for the 2004-05 school year will increase
11.9 percent, from $17,590 to $19,700, the Board of Trustees
announced last week.
Tuition and fees for students enrolled prior to March
2001 who are still on the hourly plan will increase from
$570 to $640.
Part-time students will pay $685 to $835 an hour in tuition
and fees, depending on the number of hours enrolled. On-campus
housing costs will increase 4 percent, from an average
of $5,780 to $6,010.
ÒOn any tuition issue, this is never an easy decision,Ó
Chancellor Victor Boschini said. ÒWe just try to balance
how we could provide you with the best possible education
at the lowest possible price.Ó
Tuition has risen more than 60 percent since the 1999-2000
academic year, from $12,290. Flat-rate tuition and fees
began for incoming students in fall 2001 was $15,040,
and has increased 30.9 percent since then.
Tuition will still remain below the national average for
four-year private institutions, said Carol Campbell, vice
chancellor for finance and business. The College Board,
a nonprofit organization that provides information about
colleges, estimated private school tuition and fees rose,
on average, 6 percent during the 2003-2004 academic year,
from $18,596 to $19,710.
The College Board has not yet released the averages for
2004-2005. ÒTCU continues to provide students with an
above-average educational experience at a below-average
cost,Ó Boschini said in a press release. ÒEven with the
increase, TCU will remain among the lowest-priced private,
comprehensive universities in the southwest and just below
the national average tuition price for private institutions.Ó
The cost of a TCU education will remain less than the
cost of an education at a peer school, Dean of Admissions
Ray Brown said. ÒEven with this increase, however, we
remain Ñ at least in cost Ñ well behind SMU, our primary
private school competitor, and Baylor, our second most
frequent competitor,Ó Brown said.
Financial aid will also increase to help offset the raised
tuition costs, Campbell said. ÒWeÕre always very concerned
about losing students,Ó Campbell said. Financial aid will
increase at least $4.5 million, raising the total amount
of financial aid awarded to $43.6 million. This figure
includes TCU scholarships, federal and state funds and
federal loans.
ÒIt (financial aid increase) will be at least an amount
prorated to the increase in tuition,Ó Campbell said. ÒWe
will be taking a hard look to see if that amount is sufficient.Ó
The tuition increase will not affect the number of applicants
for fall 2004, Brown said.
However, the increase could impact the number of applications
for fall 2005. ÒTheyÕre the ones who will see the large
increase in cost from the beginning of their college search,Ó
Brown said. ÒEvery percentage increase in tuition can
and will eliminate at least some people from the consideration
set that would include TCU.Ó The increase is a Òdouble-edged
sword,Ó Boschini said.
Students will have to pay more for their education, but
the quality of their education will improve. For example,
the increase will help fund 16 new faculty members, Campbell
said. ÒIt provides the compensation to attract and retain
top faculty, and it allows programs to improve,Ó she said.
TCU tries to spend frugally and cut costs wherever it
can, Boschini said. ÒIn general, I have tried to encourage
people to do as much as they can, and I think they are,Ó
he said. The tuition increase will help TCU grow as a
university, Board of Trustees member Malcolm Louden said.
ÒWeÕre doing everything we can to make the university
better,Ó Louden said. ÒThatÕs the overriding thing.Ó |
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