JAIMIE FRANKLIN
News Assistant
Pepperdine students will face another increase in tuition and housing costs for the 2008-2009 school year. The Dean’s Office announced the fee hike March 7. Tuition rates will rise 5.98 percent, costing students $36,650 per year, or $18,325 per semester.
Room and board charges will increase 5.5 percent to $5,240 per semester for dorm residents on a basic meal plan and $5,760 per semester for dorm residents on the extra meal plan. Housing costs for Towers, Lovernich, and Drescher apartments will increase, as well.
In dollar amounts, the changes add up to about $2,000 more in tuition and $1,100 more in housing costs per year.
The tuition rate increase is identical to that of last year, but housing rate changes have risen by 1 percent, from 4.5 percent.
According to Seaver Dean David Baird, the university Budget Committee comprised of President Andrew K. Benton, vice presidents, deans and faculty representatives examined each area of the budget and the rising costs faced by the university and within the higher education sector. These costs include changes in the economy that the university has little control over, such as salaries and medical insurance that rise proportionally with the cost of living. Energy and fuel costs play a large factor, as well.
Despite rising costs, student aid will increase, as well. The financial aid scholarship budget has increased an average of 9 percent per year since 2006, while tuition increases have been maintained at 6 percent.
According to Baird, 35 percent of tuition dollars go toward financial aid programs for needy students. While many students continue to face unmet financial needs, Baird maintains that financial aid is a priority for administrators.
Pepperdine recently launched a massive fundraising campaign to increase the current $700 million university endowment by $500 million. Most funds currently received toward the endowment are restricted to scholarship aid programs.
While Harvard received national attention last year for its free tuition program for low income students, Baird points out that Pepperdine simply does not have the endowment for such a program and remains tuition-dependent, with 80 percent of all university spending coming from tuition funds.
Nonetheless, students are graduating from Pepperdine with lower debt than in previous years.
Over the past several years, average student debt upon graduation has decreased from $31,000 to around $18,000, according to Baird.
“To leave with a debt that is less than the price of a new car is not really a significant debt,” Baird said.
He added, however, that the morality of not being able to meet certain students’ financial needs bothers him.
While efforts to increase financial aid continue, many students remain frustrated with the need to raise tuition in the first place.
“I feel tuition increases affect many students in California and tuition already being as high as it is, I don’t know if it’s warranted to raise it again,” said sophomore Jacquelan Vujovich.
However, other students say that paying more can mean getting more out of their education.
“Although tuition is extremely high, I feel like I get the quality of education that I pay for,” said sophomore Carina Yaghzesian. “Costs are rising in every sector right now, and higher education is one of them.”
Baird stressed that while there is still more that can be done to combat rising student costs, the administration strives to manage university funds in a financially prudent way.
“We can’t keep everyone happy,” Baird said. “But we want students to leave with a sense that their time here was worth the investment. We want students to be transformed by their experience here.”
03-20-2008
