Aaron Burns | News Co-Editor
During the Community Meeting at Buena Vista University (BVU) on Friday, March 1, President Frederick Moore announced the tuition changes for the upcoming 2013-14 academic year.
The cost to attend BVU next year will increase four percent for most students.
There will be an increase of $1,134 in tuition for Storm Lake, full-time students. Room costs will increase by $164, with one exception. For students living in the suites, an additional $100 per semester charge will be added. This charge will cover certain amenities obtained by living in the suites. Board charges will increase by $162 under the Marquis Plan, or unlimited food plan. For most students this amounts to an overall increase of $1,460, making the total price $37,954.
“I wish we didn’t have to increase it at all; I really do. But our costs do go up. To make sure we continue to provide an experience to you, we will have to increase it next year,” Moore said while explaining the increase to the Student Senate at its meeting on Thursday evening.
The decision process about tuition started in December. The President’s Council took a close look at the needs that will occur in the coming year and made sure the institution can provide high-quality academic and co-curricular programs for the students.
“We look at our position in the marketplace. We do not collaborate with other schools when setting tuition because that would be a violation of antitrust laws. We do look at where we were a year ago and what our competitors did in terms of increases,” Moore told Senators.
Moore noted that the four percent increase is consistent with other increases in recent years.
“That’s right in line to where we have been in previous years,” Moore said. “From what we have seen so far of our competitors’ news releases, that places us in the middle to downward end of the spectrum. So far, we are one of the lowest percentage increases at four percent.”
Even with the increase in tuition, Moore says the University plans to provide ample financial aid to students who choose to attend BVU.
“As you know…we are very aggressive with financial aid. This year, for example, we’ll spend about $13 million right out of our budget on financial aid. We think that it’s important to provide access,” Moore said.
Moore did reference that state and national trends reflect an effort to maintain the amount of financial aid available to college students. The governor of Iowa has recommended a $2 million increase in the Iowa Tuition Grant for next year which will be up to the House and Senate to deal with the proposal. The legislature has never passed an increase higher than the governor’s recommendation. Many students at BVU, along with students all across Iowa, receive the Pell Grant for extra financial aid. Senator Harkin has made sure the Pell Grants were exempted from the recent sequester.
“If you have been following the news, you know that if something doesn’t happen [today], there are going to be about $85 million of spending cuts at the federal government level,” Moore said. “Whether you think that is a good idea or not, the good news is if you are a Pell Grant recipient, you are not going to be affected.”
Photo by Grace Bodey
