Tuition increases at lower rate

By Andrew Ta     3/11/14 5:46pm

Undergraduate tuition will increase 4.2 percent next year from $38,260 to $39,880, according to Vice President for Finance Kathy Collins. This will raise the total cost of attendance — which includes tuition, $686 in mandatory fees and $13,400 for room and board — by 3.9 percent, from $51,941 to $53,966.

Undergraduate tuition will increase 4.2 percent next year from $38,260 to $39,880, according to Vice President for Finance Kathy Collins. This will raise the total cost of attendance — which includes tuition, $686 in mandatory fees and $13,400 for room and board — by 3.9 percent, from $51,941 to $53,966.

“Over the last few years, we’ve been slowing the rate of increase in the sticker price,” Collins said. “We’re attentive to the concern about the rising cost of college.”

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According to Senior Director of News and Media Relations BJ Almond, tuition must increase each year to ensure the university continues to function.

“The cost of doing business continues to go up,” Almond said. “That involves everything from operating facilities to hiring faculty to operate campus. Wages have been increasing. There are a number of factors that increase as part of doing business.”

Rice topped Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine’s list of best value for private universities in the Small Colleges and Colleges in the West/Southwest categories. Kiplinger’s ranked Rice No. 3 for best value among private colleges nationwide behind Yale University and Princeton University. Last month, Rice was included in the Princeton Review’s list of top 75 best value schools, but was not ranked in the top 10 list, in which Rice was included for five of the last six years.

“The [administration’s] concern is on Rice being affordable and accessible to a wide range of students,” Collins said. “So being best value in terms of cost, academic qualities and experiences and opportunities provided by Rice is really important. The rankings are secondary.”

Collins said she acknowledges that rankings play a role in the visibility of a university to prospective students, but the focus should be on what Rice provides for its student population.

“Our view is that the total package of the academics, the cost, the quality of life and the friendships of a community make up the student experience,” Collins said.

According to Collins, Rice’s tuition cost will remain competitive with its peer universities.

“Rice has always been lower than our peers in terms of sticker price,” Collins said. “So for someone who doesn’t get any aid and is paying full price, Rice is a better price.”

Collins said a number of measures have been taken over the past few years to improve Rice’s financial aid for students.

“We have maintained a need-blind approach to admissions, limited the debt we require as part of a financial aid package to no more than $10,000 over 4 years, and raised the family income below which we don’t require any loans to $80,000,” Collins said. “As our prices go up, we adjust financial aid, so it’s not just meeting need in the year you enroll; we’re continually reviewing and updating. And we have other aid that is not need-based.”

Martel College junior Alyce Chu said the recent Kiplinger’s best value rankings surprised her.

“I would have never expected Rice to rank higher than the likes of [California Institute of Technology] or Stanford [University],” Chu said. “After being here for so long, while I love Rice, I have begun to see its flaws, which a survey or numbers can’t necessarily capture for a ranking.”

Wiess College sophomore Alex Tran said a tuition increase was to be expected.

“Tuition increases themselves most likely have to occur at some level, especially considering Leebron’s plan to expand the university, which necessitates more resources, such as professors,” Tran said.

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