THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 21, 1996 TAG: 9602210402
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
Virginia Wesleyan College, bucking the national trend to slow tuition increases, will raise tuition and fees 9 percent for the next school year. It is the largest increase at the private school since 1993.
But Virginia Wesleyan is also offering a financial boost to students: In 1996-97, it will also increase grants and scholarships to each recipient by the same proportion. Nearly three-quarters of its 1,580 students get financial aid from the college.
The tuition increase will raise an extra $1.2 million next year. It will go primarily to add computers and modernize labs, said Martha E. Rogers, vice president for enrollment management.
Because Virginia Wesleyan is private, Rogers said, it cannot rely on state support. Because it is relatively young - 30 years old - its endowment is relatively small ($10.4 million). So the college has to rely on tuition for about three-quarters of its revenue. At Old Dominion University, by contrast, tuition covers 31 percent of the cost of educational programs.
``We are so tuition-driven that we have no choice but to go up . . . if we're going to provide top-notch service for our students,'' she said.
But Rogers said the increase in grants and scholarships will help cushion the blow: ``This is a signal to them about how much we want to try to keep them here.'' Usually, she said, grants to students don't vary much year to year.
Wesleyan's board of trustees approved the increases earlier this month. Tuition and fees will go up 9 percent, from $11,650 to $12,700 a year. Room and board will rise 3.8 percent, from $5,350 to $5,550. The total package, for a student living on campus, will increase 7.4 percent, from $17,000 to $18,250.
The increase in financial aid will affect all Wesleyan grants and scholarships, whether or not they are based on financial need. Like the costs at Wesleyan, the percentage of aid will rise 9 percent for commuters and 7.4 percent for residents. Rogers said the college will probably continue the policy of pumping up aid increases as tuition rises for at least the next four years.
Other schools, though, are facing increased pressure to scale back fees. In Virginia, legislators have called for at least a one-year tuition freeze for in-state undergraduates at public colleges. In response, Virginia Tech's board on Monday approved holding tuition steady and raising fees by $44. So Tech's annual total of tuition and fees for Virginia undergraduates will rise from $4,087 to $4,131 - or about 1 percent.
In Washington, President Clinton earlier this month urged leaders of private colleges to go beyond freezes and start cutting tuition. He cited Wesleyan's sister institution, North Carolina Wesleyan College, which is cutting tuition 23 percent next year.
But at Virginia Wesleyan, students interviewed Tuesday said they appreciated the need to raise tuition - and the accompanying rise in aid. ``That's understandable,'' freshman Briana Muggli said of the tuition hike. ``It's a small school and the support comes from tuition, but it's just so much.''
Another freshman, Crystal Walker, said: ``I think it's good. They have to raise tuition, but it's nice they're doing something for the students.''
Wesleyan officials stress that the school is among the cheapest private colleges in Virginia. Of the 15 institutions in the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges, only three this year have total packages smaller than Wesleyan's: Bridgewater, Emory & Henry and Shenandoah.
At North Carolina Wesleyan in Rocky Mount, annual tuition next fall will drop from $8,600 to $6,600. The total, including room and board, will fall 15 percent, from $13,650 to $11,650. ``We're not in trouble in any way; for us, it was simply a good business decision,'' said Vice President Linda Stallone, who said she expects enrollment to rise. The college, like Virginia Wesleyan, is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
But Frank Balz, vice president for research at the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, said, ``Really, it's not something that each college could automatically do. . . . Places like Virginia Wesleyan don't have a lot of fat in their budget that they can cut. Some will handle it differently than others.'' ILLUSTRATION: THE BREAKDOWN
Tuition and fees will go up 9 percent, from $11,650 to $12,700 a
year.
Room and board will rise 3.8 percent, from $5,350 to $5,550.
The total package, for a student living on campus, will increase
7.4 percent, from $17,000 to $18,250.
KEYWORDS: TUITION COLLEGE UNIVERSITY VIRGINIA INCREASE by CNB