The Observer, December 2, 2005
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12
Tuition on the rise for 2006-2007
In addition to the announcement of new tuition rates for the 2006-2007 academic year, Case will implement tuition changes in a two-tiered fashion for the first time. Current Case students will have different tuition rates than next fall's incoming students.
"We are adopting this two-tier system because first-year students next year will enjoy more improvements than the students who have already been here," John Anderson, provost and university vice president said. "Upper-classmen have not been able to appreciate the new facilities and improvements because they were still being constructed. However, first-years will be able to appreciate them from the beginning."
For those students already enrolled at Case, the tuition rate will increase 6.48 percent over the current year, resulting in a total of $30,240. On the other hand, for first year students who will enter in fall 2006, tuition will increase 9.47 percent over the current year's rate, resulting to a total of $31,090.
With a tuition increase close to 10 percent, first-years entering Case will be facing the highest tuition of any other student.
"I feel sorry for the freshmen who are coming in next year, but I don't think this will affect enrollment rates," student Ken Zhang said. "The admissions office is doing a good job at increasing enrollment and I guess the increase is a good business decision. The more people we get and the higher the tuition, then the more money Case will get."
The newly-created system also reduces the increase that the university would have to pass on to continuing students, accord-ing to Anderson.
The increased tuition is partly attributed to the Seminar Approach to General Education Scholarship (SAGES) program, increasing energy costs, faculty investments, and classroom renovations. Plans have been made to create five new class-rooms as well as to upgrade each classroom to a level two standard. Level two classrooms feature enhanced presentation capabilities including a video projector, projector screen, and a technology-based teaching station.
"We need to continually invest in the undergraduate program. It's important to keep on track with the vision we have created," Anderson said.
For transfer student Laura Demitrack, the tuition at Case is less than that of her former school, Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. "The tuition there [Wittenberg] has just increased and it's higher than Case's. It makes sense that Case is increasing its tuition because most schools now cost around the same price," Demitrack said.
In fact, even with the increases, Case's tuition is lower than the average tuition of the Association of American Universities (AAU).
The association consists of 60 universities in the U.S. and two universities in Canada. Some private schools belonging to the AAU include Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard University, and Northwestern University.
