2008 Woodie Awards
4.9% raise in tuition planned for '08-'09
Michelle Caffrey
Issue date: 2/22/08 Section: News
A good education comes at a price, and next year that price for the Drew University College of the Liberal Arts will be $46,448. This price includes room board, and various fees. Base tuition will be $35,910, according to Howard Buxbaum, Vice President of Finance and Business Affairs.
This is an increase of 4.9 percent, a decrease from last year's 5.3 percent raise and the lowest since the 2001-2002 school year, when it was raised only 4.7 percent. "We're trying to bring the trend down," Buxbaum said.
The reason for the increase is mostly to account for the salary of University employees and increases in costs for health care benefits. "Most of what we buy [relates to] faculty and staff," Buxbaum said. "We're in competition to attract the best faculty."
This lower-than-average percent increase comes at a crucial financial time for the University. President Bob Weisbuch recently announced the need for cuts in order to balance the budget, but Chief Communications Officer Dave Muha said that is not reflected in the tuition price. "The tuition is going up, but that's only for the expenses that are going up," Muha said. "The budget is managed through other means."
The trustees approved this raise during their meetings two weeks ago. "The trustees feel the price and financial aid are appropriate," Buxbaum said. "They're aware of the type of school this is."
In comparison with other nationally ranked liberal arts colleges, Drew's tuition ranks in the bottom half, with schools such as Vassar, Swarthmore, and Dickinson having higher price tags, and Ursinus, Muhlenberg, and Susquehanna with lower ones. "These are all schools that report to the same liberal arts college survey," Associate Vice President of Finance and Director of Institutional Research Chris Van Wyk said.
Over the summer, Drew gained media attention when it surpassed Princeton University as the most expensive in the state-but Buxbaum attributes that to the lack of similar institutes in New Jersey. "There are no other nationally known liberal arts colleges in New Jersey," Buxbaum said. "Those are mostly in Massachusetts or Pennsylvania-we just happen to be in a very small state."
While the percent increases for these other schools haven't been released yet, Buxbaum believes that Drew's will remain among the lower. "Our pricing has to be competitive," he said. "We have to make it work."
Another pricing factor that affects tuition is the cost of living in northern New Jersey-at least a 10-12 percent premium. "Its puts a pressure on expenses," he said. However, Buxbaum added that residing in the greater New York area has its advantages in drawing people who want to be near the city.
Besides being of interest to prospective students, the cost of a Drew bill is important to returning students. While tuition prices go up every year, the amount of Merit-Based aid stays the same throughout a student's four years. Need-based aid, however, is re-evaluated every year based on the student's household income. "We're looking towards having more flexibility," Buxbaum said "We want to work on retaining students through better financial aid."
This is an increase of 4.9 percent, a decrease from last year's 5.3 percent raise and the lowest since the 2001-2002 school year, when it was raised only 4.7 percent. "We're trying to bring the trend down," Buxbaum said.
The reason for the increase is mostly to account for the salary of University employees and increases in costs for health care benefits. "Most of what we buy [relates to] faculty and staff," Buxbaum said. "We're in competition to attract the best faculty."
This lower-than-average percent increase comes at a crucial financial time for the University. President Bob Weisbuch recently announced the need for cuts in order to balance the budget, but Chief Communications Officer Dave Muha said that is not reflected in the tuition price. "The tuition is going up, but that's only for the expenses that are going up," Muha said. "The budget is managed through other means."
The trustees approved this raise during their meetings two weeks ago. "The trustees feel the price and financial aid are appropriate," Buxbaum said. "They're aware of the type of school this is."
In comparison with other nationally ranked liberal arts colleges, Drew's tuition ranks in the bottom half, with schools such as Vassar, Swarthmore, and Dickinson having higher price tags, and Ursinus, Muhlenberg, and Susquehanna with lower ones. "These are all schools that report to the same liberal arts college survey," Associate Vice President of Finance and Director of Institutional Research Chris Van Wyk said.
Over the summer, Drew gained media attention when it surpassed Princeton University as the most expensive in the state-but Buxbaum attributes that to the lack of similar institutes in New Jersey. "There are no other nationally known liberal arts colleges in New Jersey," Buxbaum said. "Those are mostly in Massachusetts or Pennsylvania-we just happen to be in a very small state."
While the percent increases for these other schools haven't been released yet, Buxbaum believes that Drew's will remain among the lower. "Our pricing has to be competitive," he said. "We have to make it work."
Another pricing factor that affects tuition is the cost of living in northern New Jersey-at least a 10-12 percent premium. "Its puts a pressure on expenses," he said. However, Buxbaum added that residing in the greater New York area has its advantages in drawing people who want to be near the city.
Besides being of interest to prospective students, the cost of a Drew bill is important to returning students. While tuition prices go up every year, the amount of Merit-Based aid stays the same throughout a student's four years. Need-based aid, however, is re-evaluated every year based on the student's household income. "We're looking towards having more flexibility," Buxbaum said "We want to work on retaining students through better financial aid."
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Sallie Mae
posted 3/25/08 @ 11:46 AM EST
For what it's worth you're better off going to Rutgers cause at least in an interview someone will have heard of the school you graduated from.
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