Board of Trustees Get it Right With Tuition Increase

Unlike my last post which was critical of University policy, I am going to give credit where credit is due. The Hatchet reported that the Board of Trustees voted to increase tuition by 3% on Friday. While just about everyone complains about the enormous price tag to attend this University, it's important to know that University officials are taking steps to address these concerns. According to the Hatchet article, the increase was significantly below the national average (4.3%) for private institutions for the second year in a row. Kudos to President Knapp for delivering on what he promised to make one of his top issues.

We are however continuously branded wit the title of "one of the most expensive schools in the country." We did drop to third most expensive last year, but what most people don't know it that there are nearly 60 schools that also have a price tag of $50,000 or more. In other words, as we continue to raise tuition at a rate much lower than the national average, we could plummet down that dreaded list. On the flip side, and often an ignored point in the price tag argument, is that the University continues to be at the top of list in regards to financial aid. Nearly two is three students at GW receive some form of financial aid.

The thing that most people here don't know is what drives the price of the University up. If you ask anyone why they chose GW, one of the top answers will probably be the location. Well, that location comes with a price. Real estate in Foggy Bottom is some of the most expensive in the country. GW's price tag would be considerably lower if we were in the middle of say...Idaho. But then again, I suspect enrollment numbers might be a lot lower... With all that though, I think it's great that GW is taking progressive measures to address the affordability issue.

So What is a Provost Anyway?

The university has narrowed its' search for the next provost down to five finalists who will all be coming to campus for more interviews over the next two weeks. A provost or chief academic officer, 2nd in command to university President Knapp, assists in running the school especially in academic capacities. Before he became president, Mr. Knapp was provost at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Out of the 200 applicants President Knapp interviewed 23 personally and from there narrowed his list.

"It's important for candidates to visit our campuses so they can better understand the University and interact with representatives of all its constituents, including students," Knapp said in an e-mail. "In this second round, candidates go through a very rigorous schedule, meeting dozens of people, so they can answer their questions about us, and we can take a close and careful look at them."

As a student body we will be represneted by elected SA officials in the selection. process but not be directly involved. It is important we pay attention. While the president may set the direction of the university and and help decide funding, it is the provost who not only helps implement strategies but gives academic advice. Additionally, this provost will be in charge of finding 3 new deans for the School of Business, the School of Public Health and Health Services, and the Graduate School of Education and Human Development. Filling this position is very important for the university and hopefully they will select someone who looks out for student's interests first and foremost.

Serving the students of U.S. News and World Report

I was actually quite surprised to see that no one blogged about this week's conference on higher education costs held in GW's Jack Morton Auditorium for a couple of reasons:

1. The conference was sponsored by the Public Agenda and the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education and was televised on C-SPAN - I know that GW students are somewhat used to the university showing up on C-SPAN or CNN given the amount of televised events held here, but it's still pretty cool.

2. The conference featured University President Steven Knapp - again, cool to see something GW-related (in this case, our president) on TV.

3. One of Knapp's answers was simply crazy - I thought that given the fact that this issue directly affects students, as well as the fact that one of Knapp's answers was off the mark (which I talk about below), everyone would want to write about this. But I guess the more popular story wins in the end - it's understandable that when choosing what to write, SA Elections are a better draw that President Knapp speaking about tuition. In all honesty, if I hadn't waited until the last minute to post this week, I probably would've continued writing about the upcoming elections.

But I digress. Back to Knapp's answer...

According to The Hatchet, Knapp listed one of the reasons for the university's high spending as U.S. News and World Reports' annual college rankings:

"'Every one of the measures for which you get high marks in rankings in
(U.S. News and World Report) works against cost saving. Every single one of
them,' Knapp said, as he listed the various ways schools receive points, such as
high expenditures, technological capabilities, and a low student-faculty
ratio."

I understand that the university wants to stay competitive and look prestigious, but spending more money to comply with a magazine's ranking system that is fast being regarded as unfair and a poor indicator of a college's actual performance? If it's a choice between having a marginally better ranking or coming out of college without five or six figures worth of debt, I'm willing to drop a couple points to save a couple bucks.