Cabrini set to raise tuition, room and board

By Erica Abbott
March 19, 2014

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Cabrini has recently announced an increase in the costs of tuition and room and board. Effective for the 2014-2015 academic year, the undergraduate tuition and fees will increase $842, a 2.9 percent increase, to $29,842. The average room and board costs will go up by $167, a 1.4 percent increase, to $12,026. Students and their families received letters about these increases early in the spring semester. The letter stated that these “modest increases are necessary to keep pace with our costs.”

According to Gene Castellano, vice president for advancement and external relations, a small, private college (like Cabrini) has the bulk of revenue running from tuition, student fees and room and board. At Cabrini, tuition and fees cover roughly 80 percent of the costs of operating the college while, on the spending side, 60 percent of the total revenue is spent on students. The revenue being spent on students includes financial aid, which 98 percent of Cabrini students receive (roughly $20 million), instruction (roughly $12 million) and student services (roughly $10.5 million).

Compared to other schools in the area, the increase at Cabrini does seem modest. Tuition at Immaculata University is $32,000, according to their website. Rosemont College’s tuition, which was increase two percent, is $30,950 while tuition at Chesnut Hill College is $32,235, increased by three percent.

One of the major differentiators among these local colleges and universities and Cabrini is that not all include tuition and fees in one. According to Chestnut Hill College’s website, their tuition is $31,930 for the 2014-2015 academic year; however, that does not include an additional fee of $305. “Between academic year 11-12 and academic year 12-13 (between May 2012 and May 2013), in the country the average tuition of a four-year private school increased by 5.5 percent,” Castellano said. “That was the same time that Cabrini reduced tuition by 12.5 percent. That’s when the school made the big difference—people were still making these big increases and we said ‘that’s enough.’”

So then how is this increase of 2.9 percent determined? According to Castellano, the budgets on the expense and revenue side are proposed, which then goes to the chief financial officer (CFO) who develops a budget from there. It is then submitted to the board. “The board sees it at one meeting and they vote on it the next meeting,” Castellano said. “The board is the actual body that sets the tuition and it has to be so that it’s proper for the entire budget for the college.”

Students who have transferred out of Cabrini have also mentioned how the cost was one of the reasons they chose to transfer.

“It’s up to Cabrini to realize the point to which its education remains important in financial terms and then rethink how to maintain the importance while lessening the financial burden,” Brandon Desiderio, senior communication major, said. “…It’s not just about getting a piece of paper in the end, or it shouldn’t be thus, the liberal arts schools –and that’s really where Cabrini’s unique mission and vision does come into play.”

Also mentioned in the letter was how Cabrini’s “food costs increased by more than four percent last year,” Cabrini didn’t increase student’s room and board fees so the costs were not passed along to students. This increase comes in part from the increase in the consumer price index (CPI).

Part of this tuition increase is just a matter of balancing the books, according to Castellano. There will also be a new position coming to the college within the Center for Career and Professional Development. This new position will offer help to students to find jobs after graduation. The letter stated, “95 percent of Cabrini students are employed or in graduate school 10 months after graduation.” This new position will help students in that area.

Then how will this increase affect students the most? Well, until the FAFSA is filled out for the next academic year, it is hard to tell how much each student will be impacted. According to Castellano, two-thirds of students live on campus. This increase will be hitting the students both in the area of tuition and fees and room and board.

“I feel like the tuition increase affects so many college students and their family as well because now it is even harder for us pay it off than it was before and even for our loans it costs more,” Christina McCullough, freshman double major in criminology and psychology, said. “For some of us or even most of us, our parents are the ones paying for our college tuition and possibly some of the jobs they have are not well-paying so it also makes it more difficult for them.”

This increase is coming before the college’s affordability plan is set to end. Announced in October 2011, the affordability plan included a cap on tuition of $30,000 “to keep the school affordable for the middle-class families [Cabrini] tends to serve,” Castellano said. This affordability plan also decreased the tuition and fees from $33,176 to $29,000 effective for the 2012-2013 academic year and that has remained for this 2013-2014 academic year. The tuition and fees cap is set to go through May 2015. It is not yet determined what the final costs of tuition and room and board will be beyond that point until the board votes again sometime in February.

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Erica Abbott

Hi my name is Erica Abbott and I am the News Editor for the Loquitur this year. I am currently a junior Communication major, Spanish minor. I am also a social buzz editorial intern with Business 2 Community. I am very interested in the arts, social media, photography and writing.

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