The rising and dropping costs of TWU
Students concerned as tuition increases again
April 2, 2008
Melissa Kuenzi
Trinity Western University undergraduate students will have to reach deeper into their pockets next year as tuition is expected to increase 5.8 per cent, a jump of roughly $1,000. The decision is expected to be formalized this week by university administration.
Acting senior vice president of enrolment advancement Marilyn Crone and vice president of finance Jim Poulsen said that this is TWU’s lowest tuition increase in a decade. According to them, the rate at which TWU’s costs are rising is actually slowing down, compared to the six per cent tuition increase 2006/2007.
They added that, for the second year in a row, the cost of housing will remain the same to encourage more students to see living on-campus as a good financial option. Decreasing the rate of tuition increase and making on-campus housing an affordable and attractive option were goals the university achieved this year
“There will be a smaller rate of increase for the 2009-2010 year,” assured Crone. “While next year’s budget is not quite complete, we are projecting additional financial aid funds for current students which will be distributed on the basis of need.”
The TWU website is announcing that new scholarships are available to students. However, these scholarships are limited only to incoming TWU students.
“The new scholarships are for new students to improve the affordability of a TWU education and thereby assist in achieving the university’s enrolment goals. They are funded by the tuition increase related to new students only – not from the tuition increase related to current students,” said Crone.
Students voiced concerns about the implications of the most expensive school in Canada becoming even more so.
“If Trinity’s cost keeps increasing at five per cent a year, in 20 years tuition will be approximately $45 grand a year,” said third-year psychology major Michael Witten. “I hope the school can figure out a way to slow the increase down.”
Witten acknowledged that the cost of education is inevitably rising, but thinks TWU’s price is increasing too swiftly.
Third-year nursing student Emma Strobell believes that with the American dollar faltering behind the Canadian, TWU’s tuition increase will lower the incentive for Americans to attend the school. Strobell, who is from Colorado, points out that to Americans the university has been considered an affordable Christian university due to a combination of the previously-positive exchange rates and TWU’s price, which is comparatively less than similar American schools.
First-year student Joshua Lewis said an increase in tuition could hurt The Great Campaign for Students, which focuses on bolstering TWU’s declining enrollment.
“Students won’t want to attend if they know the costs are just going to keep going up.”
But not all students feel this way. Second-year accounting student Dan Demerse had an alternate point of view: “If students want to enjoy the benefits of a small, private university they should be prepared to pay for it in increasing amounts. Trinity is an expensive school, that’s not news to any of us. Increasing tuition is the best way for Trinity to compensate for lower enrolment, while maintaining high academic and extracurricular standards.”
A forum for students and administration to discuss fees and issues surrounding the budget at TWU will be held in the Atrium during the next few weeks. Like last year’s forum, this is an opportunity for students to make their questions and concerns known. The date and time of the event were unavailable as of press time.
Now you go...
Got something to say?