When looking for the right college to go to one of the big factors prospective students look at is the cost of tuition.
“Tuition is the overall amount of money for a student’s education,” Dr. Gingerich, provost and vice president of academic affairs, said.
Every school’s tuition is different, but the factors that go into setting tuition are all the same. Financial aid is a main factor. Tuition is a sticker price for a school that can seem daunting at first, but financial aid packages lighten the load.
“Our primary goal is setting tuition in a way that helps us to cover the expenses needed in order to provide the best experience to the students,” he said.
A college functions like a business and like any business there are expenses and income.
“A big factor is balancing out any expenses we have. We have to pay faculty and staff and keep the campus running,” Gingerich said. “We have to provide lots of experiences for students like an athletic center and theater and things like that.”
Cabrini is characterized as a tuition-driven institution which means that it relies on tuition as a large part of the income.
In the spring of 2016, Ursinus College in Collegeville, PA announced that they would once again raise tuition for the students. Back in 2012 the cost of tuition to go to the small, liberal arts school was $43,100. For the 2016-2017 academic year students at the college will be paying $49,370. When the $11,900 for room and board are factored into the price the cost comes up to $61,270.
An anonymous student from Ursinus College said, “I think that the hike in tuition is ridiculous unless we see some serious improvements and changes on campus. We recognize that almost all students receive some form financial aid, but $60,000 is a serious amount of money. We just want to know where it’s going, and we haven’t been told.”
Ursinus is not the only school that has been increasing tuition costs. Gwynedd Mercy University has raised their tuition by $3,170 since 2012 making the cost $32,860.
Cedar Crest College has seen a $3,804 increase since 2012 bringing their tuition cost up to $35,400.
“A school would raise tuition because like any other organization as time goes by costs go up,” Dr. Gingerich said. “So the expenses go up in terms of what the college needs in order to provide the best college experience for students. Sometimes that’s just do to general cost of living expenses.”
Cabrini has had a different history. Back in 2012 the cost of tuition had dropped significantly from $33,176 to $29,000. Since then tuition has held steady only going slightly up in 2014 to $29,842. It remained there in 2015. For the 2016-2017 academic year tuition for Cabrini dropped at little to $29,655.
According to college board the average cost of tuition a student should be paying for a private, four-year school is $31,231 a year.
“Cabrini has been able to keep tuition frozen through a lot of hard work. What we’ve decided is to deliver the best possible experience for students but at the same time make it as affordable as possible for students,” Gigerich said. “We’ve really looked at all of our operating expenses and everything we do and try to make things as student focused as possible.”
Giving the students at Cabrini the best experience is what matters to the board of directors. The growth of students at Cabrini has also helped keep tuition low.
“The other part is how we’ve been able to increase our fundraising efforts,” Gingerich said.
With the future of Cabrini University and President Taylor’s road map to growth the future of Cabrini’s tuition seems bright.
