Tuition is rising; still a bargain?

Tuition is slated to rise next year at the state’s colleges and university, but they remain competitive with their counterparts in the region and a bargain compared to most private schools in Rhode Island, especially for state residents, says Ray M. Di Pasquale, president of the Community College of Rhode Island and state commissioner of higher education.
“We still are a great bargain in the scheme of other state institutions in New England,” he said. “We are still extremely competitive.”
In his capacity as commissioner, Di Pasquale discussed with Providence Business News how challenging a decision it was for the R.I. Board of Governors of Higher Education Nov. 1 to vote to raise tuition and fees starting September 2012 at CCRI, Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island.
“It was an extremely difficult decision, particularly in these tough economic times,” Di Pasquale said, but the board of governors had little choice. The board is highly conscious of the burden that the rising cost of education places on parents and students, he said, and literally “hates” to raise rates. “It’s a real struggle,” he said.
But in the last five years, due to the state government’s economic woes, state aid to higher education dropped by a total of $40 million, Di Pasquale said. In addition, the schools themselves face higher expenses in almost all areas of operation, from payroll costs to routine maintenance.
So, even a $4.5 million increase in the 2012 state budget for higher education – the first in several years – was not enough to offset the need for higher tuition.
Without the $4.5 million, Di Pasquale noted, tuition would be even higher next year, so he said the board of governors is thankful for it. Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee’s proposed budget in March had an extra $10 million for higher education, but lawmakers whittled that down.
In New England, Rhode Island’s tuition rates at state schools are neither the highest nor the lowest, ranking from second to fifth in the six-state area in the current academic year, according to the New England Board of Higher Education.
In fiscal 2013, yearly tuition for in-state students and the percentage increase at each school will be: CCRI $3,950, 7.5 percent; RIC, $7,558, 4 percent; URI, $12,450, 9.5 percent. Five years ago, in fiscal 2008, rates were: $2.846 at CCRI; $5,256 at RIC; and $8,184 at URI.
Out of-state tuition and the percentage increase will be: CCRI, $10,582, 7.8 percent; RIC, $18,256, 4 percent; URI, and $28,016, 2 percent.
Five years ago, rates were: $7,766 at CCRI; $13,664 at RIC; and $23,038 at URI.
By comparison, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth currently charges out-of-state residents $18,174 and in-state, $8,592; UMass Boston, $20,656 out-of-state and $8,837 in-state; Worcester State College, $11,944 out-of-state and $5,864 in-state.
At the same time that the board of governors raised tuition rates, they also approved increases in financial aid starting in fiscal 2013, with $88 million for URI, a 9.2 percent increase; $13.7 million for RIC, a 1.7 percent increase and $3.6 million for CCRI, also a 9.2 percent increase.
As another way to reduce tuition costs, Di Pasquale pointed to the joint-admissions program, an increasingly popular option. Students who enroll in the 18-month associate degree program at CCRI and opt for automatic transfer to either RIC or URI for bachelor’s degrees can save up to 30 percent in tuition annually, depending on grade-point average. Six years ago, Di Pasquale said, about 50 students were enrolled in this program; now, there are about 1,100.
The state’s private schools, while generally more expensive, take pride in the reduced tuition programs they are able to offer all students, not just those from Rhode Island, and in the special programs unique to each institution.
At New England Institute of Technology, a school with about 3,000 students based in East Greenwich, Steven Kitchin, vice president of corporate education and training, was quick to note that NEIT has the lowest tuition rate of any private college or university in the state, currently ranging from $18,525 to $20,235 for associate or bachelor’s degrees, respectively.
The institute also offers a tuition freeze to students who enroll before Dec. 31.
So for instance, a student who enrolled now would have 2011 tuition rates “locked in,” Kitchin said, until he or she completed work required for an associate or bachelor’s degree. “Very candidly, this is a way to provide students and their families with stability and with no [fiscal] surprises because tuition and fees are locked in,” he said. At Johnson & Wales University, based in Providence, the amount devoted to financial aid at the school’s four campuses has risen about 60 percent in the last five years, going from $72 million in the 2006 school year to $121 million in 2010, according to Lisa Pelosi, director of community and media relations. Schoolwide, 91 percent of JWU students receive some form of financial aid.
Undergraduate tuition at Johnson & Wales for the current academic year is $23,955.
In terms of what a student receives for the money, Pelosi as well as Kitchin said it is impossible to fairly compare programs at private schools to those at public colleges because the missions of the private institutions such as NEIT and JWU are intended to be specific to the student populations they serve.
Students choose JWU usually because they know they want to work in culinary arts, hotel operations, fashion merchandising or entertainment event management, four of the university’s most popular majors, Pelosi said.
The New England Board of Higher Education, based in Boston, in a September report noted that the most influential factor in determining undergraduate tuition rates at public colleges and universities was the level of state appropriations. Rhode Island was the only New England state to increase state aid to higher education in fiscal 2012.
&#8226 In 2011-2012 in New England, the average in-state tuition and fees for public four-year institutions were the highest in New Hampshire at $11,603 and lowest in Connecticut, $8,507, with Rhode Island ranking third at $9,317 and Massachusetts fourth at $9,052.
&#8226 The average out-of-state tuition and fees were highest in Vermont at $23,195 and lowest in Massachusetts, $18,745, with Rhode Island second highest at $22,504.
&#8226 For two-year public colleges, the average in-state tuition and fees in 2011-2012 were the highest in New Hampshire, $5,321, with Massachusetts third at $4,985 and Rhode Island fourth at $3,676.
&#8226 Out-of-state tuition averages for two-year schools were the highest once again in New Hampshire at $11,753, with Massachusetts ranking second at $11,492 and Rhode Island, fifth at $9,816. &#8226

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