This week on Chronversations: College to increase tuition by 5 percent for current students, 10 percent for incoming students.

TRANSCRIPT:

0:08

Welcome back to the Chronicle Chronversations.

0:10

I’m your host, Aaron Guzman.

0:13

For campus news this week, the college will be increasing tuition by 5% for continuing students and by 10% for the new incoming students.

0:21

For the 2025 to 2026 school year, tuition for full-time students will have an increase of $1614 before financial aid.

0:30

According to an email from interim president and CEO Jerry Tarrer, the email was sent to students on Tuesday evening, Nov. 12.

0:39

This was approved by the college’s Board of Trustees on Oct. 28.

0:42

Fees will also be increasing by 2% for current students and housing will increase by 3%.

0:49

Here are some reactions from some of our students. 

0:54

Honestly, frustrated as a senior, I know that I will not be impacted by this change.

0:57

However, it’s pretty similar to changes that we’ve seen before and I know that it does place even more burden onto the students and their financial situations.

1:07

So, it’s frustrating.

1:09

I also know that our financial situation is not looking good in general at this college.

1:14

So, I understand why they’re doing this.

1:17

But I also don’t think it will have a positive impact on our student body.

1:21

Sophomore, Ashley Tavares shares the challenges that she faces with financial aid and how any tuition raises affect her future as a student.

1:31

Personally, so I get no FASFA, I get no government help, which is kind of crazy because my family, I have a family of 13.

1:40

So, basically, the government is saying since your parents can afford to raise 13 kids, like you don’t need any help being in school.

1:47

So for me, that’s kind of shattering to hear because I already cannot afford to go here and I want to be here.

1:56

So by raising it at 5% that can just completely ruin my chance of staying here.

2:02

Junior Wyatt Fritz expresses his concerns that the tuition raise could lead to less students coming into the college.

2:09

That’s a lie.

2:11

I don’t see how they think that’ll bring in more students.

2:16

I mean, obviously, that’s not the intention of raising the money is to get more students to come here.

2:20

But I know that we’re having issues with incoming class sizes and being concerned about new classes coming in and not having as big of numbers and raising that tuition is certainly not gonna help.

2:34

Like I said, with the arts communities being all like community-based, they’re also, they thrive when they’re accessible and higher costs is less accessible to the general population.

2:46

That’s all for this week.

2:47

Make sure to stay up to date with campus and metro news at columbiachronicle.com and sign up for our newsletter at columbiachronicle.com/newsletter.

2:55

Don’t forget to check out our new Three C’s podcast where we give credible information to the Columbia community.

3:01

I’m Aaron Guzman.

3:02

Thanks for listening.

Copy edited by Vanessa Orozco