Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 26, 1995 TAG: 9511270060
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: COLUMBUS, OHIO LENGTH: Medium
The liberal arts school is dropping tuition for the 1996-97 school year by $4,000 - 29 percent - for students enrolling for the first time, from $13,850 to $9,850.
``I have not heard of anything like that,'' said David Merkowitz, spokesman for the American Council on Education, a group representing the nation's colleges and universities. ``It is indicative of the degree of competition we are seeing in higher education based on price.''
``Finally. We've been saying for years and years and years: We're pricing people out of higher education,'' said Laura McClintock, legislative director for the New York-based U.S. Student Association, a nationwide group of college students.
The school in New Concord, 75 miles east of Columbus, made its decision after extensive economic analysis and a Gallup Poll it commissioned convinced administrators that the school could bring in more money by charging less, said college President Samuel W. Speck.
After reaching a peak enrollment of 1,122 in the 1993-94 school year, enrollment at Muskingum dipped to 1,104 in
Nationwide this year, tuition increased by an average of 6 percent - less than the double-digit increases of the early 1990s but still twice the inflation rate.
Current Muskingum students will not benefit from the full tuition cut. Graduating seniors will see no discount, but students returning next fall could receive a ``transitional'' grant of up to $2,000, depending on the amount of financial aid they get.
by CNB