by Leslie Porras
Features Editor
For all those students who are anxiously awaiting the final decision of how much their ULV tuition will go up next fall, wait no further, the decision has been made. Tuition for the 1992-93 school year will be raised 6.9 percent.
Even with the increase, “We think it’s the best buy around,” according to Dr. Skip Mainiero, vice-president of administration and finance, in comparing ULV’s tuition rate with other universities.
As to how the extra money that a 6.9 percent increase. will bring is to be spent, Dr. Mainiero said, “The bulk of the increase will go to salaries.” He added that by mid-year, all university staff salaries will go up by six percent, and faculty will receive an additional $1,500 per person.
The increase in fees will also allow the University to expand in other areas as well.
According to Dr. Mainiero, “We will be adding to the security services at the request of students and student housing.”
There will also be an addition of faculty, one new member each added to the Mathematics Department and Business Department, and one new librarian.
In an article that appeared in the Orange County Register recently, ULV ranked the lowest in cost next to other schools that are also raising their tuition, such as Chapman University.
Chapman will be raising its tuition 15 percent, the largest increase in its school history, Returning students, however, will only have to pay a six percent increase.
The president of Chapman, Jim Doti, attributes the tuition raise at his university to the type of education students will be receiving. “Our mission is to provide a personalized education, and this is expensive,” Doti commented to the Orange County Register reporter.
The ULV administration does not think the relatively small increase will have an adverse effect on the enrollment of new students for next fall.
“I think it makes it more attractive,” said Dr. Stephen Morgan, president. “My guess is that we wouldn’t have a significant increase in enrollment.”
Dr. Morgan did add that ULV did look at the possibility of having different rate of increases for returning students and new students, as Chapman’ has done, but that idea was ruled out because “We want to keep it [tuition increase] the same for everybody.”
Both Dr. Morgan and Dr. Mainiero emphasized that while tuition will go up 6.9 percent, financial aid available to students will also go up six percent to help them meet their needs.
Overall, Dr. Morgan summed it up by saying, “We still think it’s a pretty good bargain.”
