Tuition increasing by 4.5 percent next year

By: Arielle Wilson

Posted: 4/9/09

Starting next fall, St. Ambrose students will have to shell out an
extra 4.5 percent when they pay their tuition.

"Tuition increases every year as the operating costs of the university increase each year," Michael Poster, Vice President of Finance, said. "These operating costs include personnel, utilities, insurance, supplies and others."
The vice presidents and board members consider certain expenditures when determining what the tuition increase will be.

"The increase is a function of what we anticipate our expenses will be for the next year along with looking at the competitiveness of our tuition compared to similar institutions," Poster said.

St. Ambrose's increase for the next school year is comparable to those of other institutions in the area.
While news of a tuition increase does not come as a shock to Ambrose students, it is still upsetting to those who pay their own tuition.

"It's going to go up no matter what," Matthew Dunn, a sophomore accounting major, said. "Still, I hate that I have to pay more."

However, not all students are as concerned as Dunn about the tuition increase.

"It doesn't matter to me, my parents pay my tuition," Hillary Gaffey, a sophomore general business and finance major, said.

"But it's not the best thing for anyone."
All the talk of rising tuition costs raises the question of possibly locking in tuition rates for four years. Schools that institute this program let students pay their freshman tuition rate for all four years at the university.

"This is not something we have discussed," Poster said. "If an institution were to set a tuition rate for four years, it would have to factor in expected cost increases over this time period. We prefer to do this on an annual basis as we have a clearer view of what those increases might be."

Poster's negative feelings toward this system do not stop there.
"The drawbacks would include under and over estimating cost increases," he said. "This would also give the university very little flexibility in dealing with changing situations."

As is the case for St. Ambrose, a yearly increase ensures that the university will have enough money to fund its day-to-day operations.

An obvious factor for next year's increase was the economy.
"The economy had some impact on the increase for this year," Poster said. "Our intent was to keep the increase as low as possible to help students and their families deal with the financial crisis."

Whatever the reason, students should be prepared for the 4.5 percent tuition increase that will become effective for the 2009-2010 school year.