A panel of top University administrators tackled questions at a “town hall meeting” Monday evening. The forum, which lasted for more than two hours, gave students a chance to voice their concerns about the University; topics of discussion included next year’s tuition hike, fears of declining diversity on campus and complaints about a lack of student input in administrative decisions.
Student Government Association President Evan Krauss had first proposed holding a town hall meeting last month in the wake of University President Lawrence Biondi’s announcement of an 8.5 percent tuition increase for next year.
Krauss admitted that holding the meeting during midterm week was less than ideal, but said that it was the only time that administrators were available before spring break.
A dozen upper-level administrators attended the event, including Biondi, Provost Joe Weixlmann and CFO Bob Woodruff. A number of students and some faculty and staff members participated, though only about half the seats in the room were filled.
The meeting began with a structured question-and-answer period. Selected students-mostly SGA members-posed questions falling into six predetermined areas: “cost of SLU experience,” diversity, housing, academics, technology and student input. At the end of the town hall, audience members were allowed to ask questions of their choice.
Concern about rising tuition rates dominated much of the evening’s discussion.
At the beginning of the meeting, SGA Senator John Curry asked if students should expect another 8.5 tuition hike in 2008. Woodruff responded that he could not yet accurately guess at next year’s figures and said that it was impossible to say with certainty how tuition rates would rise from year to year.
Administrators more or less rejected the possibility of fixing scholarship awards to tuition increases. John Baworowsky, vice president for enrollment and academic services, said that such a plan would decrease the amount of financial aid available for needy students.
Administrators were also skeptical about SGA Financial Vice President Chris Pingel’s suggestion to implement “differentiated tuition rates.” Already in practice at a number of other Jesuit schools, differentiated tuition rates keep costs stable for upper classmen while necessarily levying a heavier burden on incoming freshmen. Members of the panel said that the idea was flawed.
“It’s a bad model. It reduces the number of students who might even consider a university, it decreases diversity, and it increases dependence on financial aid . It is mostly used by schools who are planning to dramatically increase tuition rates,” Baworowsky said.
Weixlmann said that many of the other Jesuit schools that had adopted differentiated tuition rates were dissatisfied with it and had begun to phase out the system.
Later in the meeting, SGA Senator Katie Beebe asked the panelists what they would do to better involve students in the University’s decision making.
Biondi responded by saying that students already had a voice in the administration-SGA President Evan Krauss, who has a seat on the President’s Coordinating Council.
“Isn’t that enough?” Biondi said.
Biondi also asked whether students would prefer to hold an annual vote on tuition increases, which received some applause from the audience.
