The Admissions Building
David Scibilia/The Bona Venture
BY: JULIA BABCOCK, STAFF WRITER
“There needs to be a solution to this problem,” said Griffin Irving, a sophomore psychology major.
St. Bonaventure University has decided to raise tuition by 3% for next year. Incoming and current students will be forced to continue increasing their payments each year, and they fear the increase will harm their chances of staying at Bonaventure.
Due to inflationary pressures, the rising cost of maintaining the school and new improvements the tuition is again going up this year.
“We’d love nothing more than to keep tuition flat, but that just isn’t possible. Inflationary pressures, rising utility and insurance costs, and salary and wage increase mandates put forth by the state make it necessary to impose slight increases in tuition, room and board each year,” said President Dr. Jeff Gingerich, “Our goal is to keep those increases to roughly 3% and we’ve been successfully doing that over the last decade.”
Bonaventure aims to keep the tuition increases to only 3% every year, which they have seen success within the last decade the university has been running.
“We’d love nothing more than to keep tuition flat, but that just isn’t possible. Inflationary pressures, rising utility and insurance costs, and salary and wage increase mandates put forth by the state make it necessary to impose slight increases in tuition, room and board each year,” said President Gingerich. “Our goal is to keep those increases to roughly 3% and we’ve been successful doing that over the last decade.”
Gingerich understands that students are never happy with price increases, but he hopes that students will understand why it is necessary to increase tuition. Gingerich said that a Bonaventure education is very valuable, and students with concerns can reach out to financial aid to discuss a way to make the tuition affordable.
“I understand that no one is ever happy with price increases for anything, but I’m hopeful that students and their families are able to take the long view and understand how much the value of a Bonaventure education will mean to their professional and personal lives,” said Gingerich. “If students do have concerns, they can reach out to one of our financial aid counselors to discuss an aid appeal or work with our business office to consider alternative payment options.”
Morgan McManus, a freshman adolescent education major, agrees that it is sometimes necessary to increase tuition to see improvements in this institution.
“I feel like there is a need for improvements. This school has places that I would like to see money go to, and increasing the tuition is going to make that happen for the incoming classes,” said McManus.
Despite McManus wanting to see improvements, she is nervous about how the effect in tuition will affect her and her family.
“It is going to affect my parents more than me,” said McManus. “My parents are having some money problems, so now they need to be on a tighter budget than before.”
Keeley Reiford, a freshman sports management major, agrees with McManus.
“Families will have a harder time to pay for college,” said Keeley Riford, freshman sports management major.
McManus said keeping a tighter budget will be necessary to stay enrolled in the university; she hopes the tuition increase will not affect her ability to attend Bonaventure.
“I do like it here [at Bonaventure], but if it becomes too much, then I may have to reconsider my options,” said McManus.
Students such as McManus look forward to the improvements this tuition increase will bring the university.
Irving said that this change is necessary as the economy continues to grow.
“I think it’s necessary for tuition prices to rise as the economy continues to grow, but as of now, tuition has become borderline unaffordable for some families,” said Irving.
Irving said that we need to find a solution for the families that may not be able to afford a Bonaventure education; the tuition has become unaffordable for some students.
“Families shouldn’t have to break the bank to give their loved ones a quality education,” said Irving.
Reiford is hopeful that student loans and financial aid will be available to assist any students who need them.
“Students will need more help from FAFSA and other organizations in order to go to Bonaventure,” said Reiford.
The rise in prices will be applied to the general operational budget of the university, funding not one specific area but all aspects of the university.
“The additional funds will be put toward the general operational budget for the entire university to allow us to balance our revenues with our expenses, ” said Dan Hungerford, vice president for finance and administration.
babcocjl23@bonaventure.edu
