By Stephanie Vosk
Northeastern’s $400 million budget and subsequent 5.5 percent tuition increase for next year has moved from the realm of the possible and into reality as the university approved the proposal March 7. The new budget and tuition is set to go into effect next fall.
The original proposal was relatively unscathed by the time it was approved, with only about $1 million in revenue and expenses redistributed. The biggest change will come from market raises for faculty being implemented July 1 instead of October 1.
“It basically was a cost we were going to incur on a full year basis the following year,” said Senior Vice President of Administration and Finance Larry Mucciolo. “[The change] did not affect the net result.”
The only uncontrollable factor in terms of available revenue next year is the university’s enrollment.
“We have pretty strong student demand. We’ll obviously have to see what the economy does to some people, but right now the incoming student statistics are the most positive they’ve ever been,” Mucciolo said.
While applications for next year’s freshman class and transfer students are up over 20 percent from last year, the pending 5.5 percent tuition increase could affect prospective students’ decisions to attend NU.
Incoming freshman Harper Spero, however, said that she plans on attending Northeastern no matter what the cost.
“Obviously it is a lot of money, but I know it won’t stop me from loving the school or my parents from sending me to the school, because they know I will have a great education and it will be a great experience,” Spero said.
Freshman business major Lauren Cepeda will continue to pay her tuition bills, including the fall increase, but she will not be happy about it.
Cepeda said that while she will return to Northeastern next year despite the increase, she would “expect a better education because of it.”
Sophomore art major Cameron Stoll, however, takes the climbing tuition in stride.
Stoll said that with other schools such as the University of Chicago and Boston University reaching the $40,000 mark, “This is kind of a deal in comparison to those schools.”
University officials have also expressed concern that semester conversion may accelerate current students’ path towards graduation, causing the university to lose tuition money. Students that only need to take one semester of classes to graduate after conversion rather than two or three quarters will pay less to Northeastern to complete their degree.
“You’ve got to keep your eye on the ball every play,” Mucciolo said.
Physics Professor Michael T. Vaughn does not think that the tuition increase will affect next year’s enrollments.
“For a lot of students, the tuition increase is really less than five percent because that’s what the extra financial aid is supposed to do,” Vaughn said.
Some members of the Faculty Senate have responded to others who have echoed Vaughn’s theory by asking why it is necessary for a tuition increase at all if the raise in financial aid will keep the same balance the university has currently.
Vaughn also feels that greater stipends for graduate teaching assistants should have been included in next year’s budget.
“For TAs, a difference of $1,000 a year makes a difference in their lifestyle,” he said. “They can eat better.”
He said that in the College of Arts ‘ Sciences, the pay awarded to TAs is “shameful.”
“[The Faculty Senate] certainly has to face the fact that TAs and part time faculty are underpaid by any measure,” he said. “People in the senate tend to have priorities where they don’t really get concerned about graduate students or part-time lecturers.”
