Senate helps cap tuition rise

It’s an ongoing battle with the Student Senate tugging to keep tuition increases as low as possible and the administration looking to corner costs.

At the end of February, the administration responded with a 5.5 percent increase, one-half percent below the Senate’s cap.

The Student Senate believes it’s the voice for the SMU student body when speaking to the administration on important issues like tuition.

The Senate and the administration agreed to cap the 2002 tuition increase at 6 percent, following the plummeting economy in the United States since Sept. 11.

“Our [Senate] strategy is to get a tuition cap set each year. This year it was 6 percent,” first-year Secretary-elect Thomas Kincaid said. “Basically, it needs to match inflation to encourage the university to lower the increase to 2 or 3 percent, which will be more affordable for students.”

Neither financial aid programs nor scholarships have gone up to match the increase in tuition.

At a Senate meeting February, Vice President for Business and Finance Department Morgan Olsen said financial aid is funded through endowment and tuition.

“If we increase that portion of the operating budget at the same level, we increase the sticker price,” Olsen said. “It depends on the donor’s interests and abilities.”

But according to senators, SMU has not increased scholarships or financial aid programs since this February announcement.

Vice-President-elect Britt Moen believes that when tuition goes up transfer students and recruitments are discouraged. Students choose to attend benchmark schools with a lower tuition cost.

“The bottom line is many students cannot afford it [the increase], and we need to correct and index scholarships,” Moen said.

Junior biology major Mary Borer lost a $1,000 financial aid scholarship from SMU, despite the fact that her parents’ tax record showed no increase in income. Last semester she held a 4.0, but Borer still lost it. Borer met with the financial aid advisers in Perkins and they stated her mother’s income had increased, which Borer said was incorrect information.

“It upset me that SMU said I wasn’t eligible to receive the Pell Grant this semester, when I should have been eligible,” Borer said. Now Borer along with many other students have to ask for more money from their student loans.

The Senate has proposed to set an example for the administration by increasing its annual scholarships, to match the increase in tuition and fees. Senate gives about 10 scholarships yearly, but feels its the necessary step in the right direction.

The Senate believes that students should know exactly were their tuition money is going.

“A major misconception that students have is that this increase is going to our new facilities, like the new buildings, garages, etc., when in actuality it’s being used for professors’ salaries to compete with other universities,” Moen said.

Another part of the increase will help fund better health care for faculty and staff. Health care rose 50 percent in the past year.

“The Board of Trustees is concerned about the continuing increases,” Student Body President Jodi Warmbrod said. “They respected the original idea of the cap being

5 percent, but were unable to meet our expectations and instead, decided to compromise with 5.5 percent.”

“Between 70 and 75 percent of our operating budget comes from tuition,” Olsen said. “We would like to grow the endowment, but we must first have more diverse revenue streams.”

The administration has worked close with the Student Senate to come to an agreement on tuition said Moen.

“I am proud of our efforts,” Warmbrod said. “The administration has met with our concerns and needs on this issue. They kept the cap under the 6 percent, which is what we ended up asking for in the end.”

“There is a real partnership and team between the administration and Senate,” Kincaid said. “They have been very helpful and active in dealing with the tuition increase.”

Senate helps cap tuition rise