College raises tuition costs

Fabian Arzuaga News Editor

The Office of Finance and Administration e-mailed students on Feb. 24, alerting them that the comprehensive fee for the 2006-2007 academic year would be increased to $44,160, a 5.9 percent rise from this year’s cost. Aside from sustaining current academic and student services of the College, administrators cited the “shock of energy price increases” as a major cause for the increase.

“We had not anticipated this particular [tuition] increase…we thought we’d be somewhat lower,” said Vice President for Finance and Administration Betsy Eismeier.

In addition to the comprehensive fee increase, the College announced that it will introduce an annual parking permit fee of $100 and reintroduce an annual $500 surcharge for each person who lives in Vassar apartment housing next year.

“We were not consistent with apartment housing or parking [charges],” in comparison with the fees charged by similar colleges, said Eismeier. She added that Vassar had been charging less than their peer institutions for similar high-demand and high-maintenance residences.
Eismeier’s campus-wide e-mail cited the College’s main concerns were sustaining the “breadth of curriculum,” the “low student to faculty ratio,” as well as extracurricular activities and services.

Tuition revenue has little effect on financial aid. “We try to have gifts and endowment bear as much of the burden as possible in the financial aid program,” said Eismeier. She added that there is a direct correlation between the endowment and gifts with funding for need-based Vassar scholarships.

The increase also does not address specific renovation or upgrade projects, like campus-wide wireless Internet access, which was paid for by an anonymous donor. Many donations are earmarked for specific issues and cannot be redirected for other uses.

Last year, the Chronicle of Higher Education ranked Vassar the sixth most expensive school in the country in terms of tuition and required fees for first-time, full-time undergraduates.

Eismeier said this ranking is “misleading,” because it does not compare comprehensive fees, which include costs like room and board. “But Vassar is a very expensive school,” she said. “It’s a choice that each family has to take a hard look at.”

“I tend to look at how we stack up against similar institutions,” added Eismeier. For example, a commuter school would have a significantly lower comprehensive fee since there would be no room and board charges.

Vassar finance administrators conduct their own comparison survey with 20 similar schools each year. “We’ve been hovering above average in the group comprehensive fee,” said Eismeier, adding that this concerns finance administrators and trustees.

“We want to be priced fairly,” said Eismeier. “But we also compare ourselves, regularly, to other schools in terms of the scope of what we offer and selection of courses, the quality of faculty, [and] the quality of housing.”

Tuition revenues make up a little over half of the College’s $135 million annual operating budget. The remainder is paid for by sources including the College’s endowment, private gifts, and government assistance.