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Rates for room and board will also climb for 2007-2008 Tuition, room, and board rates at Pacific will again rise for the next academic year. The tuition increase will be at 5.9%, bringing the typical tuition rate for a full-time undergraduate student to $28,480. Last year’s increase was 4.9%.
The decision was approved last week at the Board of Regents meeting in San Francisco. ASUOP President Adam Ellison attended the meeting to provide a student voice in the proceedings.
Ellison said he supports the increase with the stipulation that financial aid also be boosted.
“I expected the increase to be significantly higher than it was,” Ellison said, a hint of surprise in his voice. “I’m happy and pleased with the administration. It’s important to keep it [the tuition rate] as low as possible. I did thank President DeRosa for being on the side of students.”
The problem for the university, according to Ellison, is few options for revenue. Since Pacific exists as a private institution, the state does not fund the school, like the case is with the UCs and CSUs. As a result, Pacific must continually plan for funding.
“There’s no state money that comes to the university directly,” said Pat Cavanaugh, Vice-President of Business and Finance. He said the closest thing to state aid is through the Cal Grants program.
Pacific is dependent on revenues generated from tuition, said Ellison. The only other major source of revenue comes from endowments or gifts to the university.
 Cavanaugh said that Pacific invests the money in the short term and see the interest grow. The McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento and the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco pay administrative fees to the Stockton campus.
“While none of us will be thrilled with the idea of a tuition increase, we have to be long-term thinkers,” Ellison said. He added that this would be a long-term benefit to the students. For the future, Cavanaugh does see more increases but hopes to keep them at a minimum. “The increases will continue to be less than average,” Cavanaugh said. “I think our tuition fees will continue to be competitive.” Recently, the news magazine U.S. News and World Report listed Pacific in several lists of its ‘America’s Best Colleges’ coverage. In best overall universities, Pacific tied at 98th place, seven places ahead of the University of San Diego and ten places behind UC Riverside. Pacific ranked 38th on the national ‘Best Values’ list, ahead of UC Berkeley. Cavanaugh predicts that the value Pacific offers will attract potential students with higher quality applications.
“Good students, who have lots of options, are picking Pacific,” he said.
Rising tuition rates across the country have garnered extensive media coverage, prompting legislators to address the potential problem. State schools, in the CSU or UC systems, may benefit from the actions taken. Pacific, like other private universities, is unable to take advantage of the perks.
Perhaps the only major university to go against the trend is Princeton University, which decided this past week to maintain current tuition rates at $33,000. It was over 40 years ago when Princeton last stayed tuition.
On the web: www.usnews.com
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