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Wesleyan faces a tuition increase similar to other local public and private institutions.
Wesleyan tuition will increase 5 percent in the fall, according to Vice President of Finance and Administration Bill Bleibdrey.
Wesleyan’s increase estimate comes from predicting what peer institutions will do along with predicted fall enrollment numbers, Bleibdrey said.
“We want to stay in the same range as a lot of other institutions,” Bliebdrey said. “The issue is a lot of us come out with our price increases at the same time, so nobody really waits and see what’s there. We kind of expect, and react to, what’s gone on in prior years.”
Bleibdrey said Austin College, University of Texas at Arlington and University of North Texas are among the schools Wesleyan looks at.
UTA is increasing tuition 3.95 percent while UNT’s expected tuition increase is 5 percent, according to news reports.
Texas Christian University is increasing tuition 6.2 percent. However, Bleibdrey said he does not consider TCU a peer institution.
Wesleyan’s scholarship budget will also go up more than 5 percent in the fall, which means more money available for students, Bleibdrey said.
“We think that’s necessary based on the economic climate and what student’s tell us about the affordability,” Bliebdrey said. “It’s part art, part science.”
Director of Financial Aid Shanna Hollis said it’s important that students remember Wesleyan is a private institution.
“It allows more flexibility in terms of how we award some institutional funding,” she said. “The more you have to pay in direct costs is directly related to the total amount you can receive in financial assistance.”
Public institutions are feeling the pinch more than private ones, she said.
Hollis also said the price increase could provide some students with the opportunity to receive more financial aid.
While some of the money will go toward providing more Internet access and investing in expanding some of the doctorate programs, other funds will cover cost increases in faculty health insurance.
“Our medical insurance rates for all the employees went up 18 percent this year,” Bliebdrey said. “So all of a sudden, that additional revenue from the price increase has to cover things like insurance cost increases.”
Wesleyan President Dr. Harold Jeffcoat agreed that the “astronomical” increase in health insurance rates is a top priority.
“There’s just not another way to do it,” he said. “For the first time in recent memory, we’re asking every employee to pay a portion of their own health insurance.”
Faculty and staff of the university pay 5 percent of their medical insurance premium for insuring themselves, Bleibdrey said in an e-mail. Additional costs are borne by employees if they choose to insure a spouse or family member.
Student Government Association President Heath Scott said raising tuition to cover faculty healthcare is “an unfortunate evil that must be dealt with.”
“It is my hope though, that we shift the main burden off the backs of the students and spread it evenly among all members of the Wesleyan family,” he said. “A 5 percent tuition hike will be hard for a lot of my fellow students to handle.”
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