As tuition rises, so do some related faculty concerns.
The Board of Trustees voted to raise tuition nearly 10 percent for the coming school year, and some faculty members say they are concerned it could outprice some prospective students, including children of faculty, and leave other students with mounds of debt.
Tuition for the 2011-12 academic year has been set at $787 per credit hour, meaning a student taking 15 hours will pay a minimum of $11,805, not including fees, housing or food.
“We see our students leave with lots of debt and worry about how they’ll pay for that debt,” said Kim Pamplin, chair of the Faculty Senate.
The financial strain also can impact children of ACU employees, said Pamplin, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
“One of the things Faculty Senate has been thinking about is the affordability of ACU for our own employees,” Pamplin said. “If our cost to send one of our dependents to ACU is rising faster than our salaries are rising, then I think that means ACU is becoming less affordable for our own people, and I don’t know if we want that trend to continue.”
Dr. Barry Packer, board chair, said the board understands the difficulty of a tuition increase, but he said the increase of revenue will allow ACU to provide a higher quality education.
“I think it’s important to at least say that we really struggle with and understand that the cost of providing a quality education is very, very difficult in today’s economy,” Packer said. “We know it’s a struggle and a strain for families to send their children here, and so the decision for the tuition increase is really due to the commitment we have to increasing the quality of the academic experience for all the students.”
Although Pamplin understands some students financially motivated desire, to supplement an ACU education with less expensive courses from more affordable institutions, he hopes the quality of the ACU experience justifies the price increase.
“I think we all feel like ACU offers an excellent product, and we’d like to think that our product is worth the price that we’re charging,” Pamplin said. “Certainly, when we compare ourselves to other universities around the nation, ACU seems to compare favorably as far as the quality students are receiving compared to the cost they are paying.”
Dr. Charles Mattis, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said faculty is concerned by the increase but understands the university’s commitment to become a quality institution.
He also said investment in quality already is paying off through initiatives such as mobile learning, the Core curriculum and the new AT&T Learning Studio.
“Students have an innovative opportunity now for collaboration and creative projects, which the market is looking for,” Mattis said.
Packer said the increase in tuition was the only major decision made during the February meeting. However, the board did schedule discussions with the committee to explore and examine whether ACU is best suited to continue functioning as a Division 2 NCAA institution or to move to Division 1. He said they also discussed accreditation renewal.
