The cost of your future
By Kim Puckett | News Editor
With a tuition increase of 3.2 percent and the promise of augmented financial aid for next year, the University of Indianapolis plans to survive the nation’s economic recession.
“We are not in trouble with anything financially,” President Beverley Pitts said. “Our university is very financially stable.”
The annual increase brings tuition costs to $20,970 and room and board charges to $7,610 for a 14-meal plan. The rise is consistent with increases of the past, and lower than that of the 2007-08 academic year of 3.99 percent.
Pitts said the university looked at basic expenses such as faculty salaries, food service costs and software fees when deciding on the increase. She said software alone costs the university upwards of $200,000.
“We are not freezing hiring for faculty positions or anything like that,” Pitts said. “We were conservative in terms of estimating enrollment numbers for next year, and we raised tuition the minimum amount we could to come out even.”
In order to alleviate some strain from the failing economy and the increased tuition, an increase in university-funded student financial aid has been budgeted for next year along with expected additional assistance from federal and state institutions, according to Mark Weigand, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management,
“We know that the bottom line is what is important to people,” Weigand said. “We are seeing the most positive signs for increase from the federal government that we have in the 30 years that I have worked here.”
Linda Handy, director of financial aid, said Congress has secured the availability of Stafford Loans for students and upped the maximum on unsubsidized loans to $2,000 by fronting money to private lenders to cover costs.
Handy also said that although federal funding is fairly secure for students, the private loan market is volatile.
“Some lenders are not giving out loans anymore, but we still have a list of lenders for students to borrow from,” she said. “The only students who will have problems will be international students who do not have a U.S. citizen to cosign for them or other students without a credit-worthy cosigner.”
Handy said that many students with problems finding a cosigner had these issues before the economic recession. Private loans make up about 15 percent of financial aid available to UIndy students.
“We want to encourage students to file the FAFSA by March 10 and contact the financial aid office with any problems,” Handy said. “We have mechanisms for working with people who have been hit hard by the economy, such as loss of employment.”
