Undergraduate students are currently preparing for the upcoming school year. At West Virginia Wesleyan College meeting financial aid and registration deadlines become extremely important. This semester, students at Wesleyan received a letter through campus mail stating that each student’s tuition would be gradually increasing in the semester to come. The letter notified the student body that the Board of Trustees approved increases for 2014-2015 school year. There will be a 4% tuition and fees increase, only a 1% room increase and a 2.9% board increase, for a total increase for residential students of $1,214, or 3.5%.
The orange letter caused a buzz around campus among not only students, but faculty and staff members as well. President Balch commented on buzz by ensuring students and staff that the tuition increase is a necessity. She claimed, “Our increases are necessary because of rising costs, as well as improvements that impact the quality of the learning experience. In recent years, inflation has continually risen at a level of more than 2% per year. Actually, some categories of costs have risen faster than that, especially food, technology and utility costs”.
College is expensive but it is important to remember that operating an institution takes money as well. Balch closed the Q&A by stating, “We realize that many students are struggling to afford a quality education. Wesleyan is making every effort to keep costs down for students by offering very generous financial aid and by helping students discover external sources of funding through new scholarships. Most students are not paying the full amount of total costs. We understand that any increase is difficult, but we also know that increases, however so moderate, are necessary to sustain the academic experience at the highest level possible.” Therefore, if you are a concerned student be sure to visit the financial aid office in order to make resolution and relieve your stresses of tuition increase.