The Griffon News

 While some schools have raised tuition for business and engineering students to offset higher salaries, that option is not one for Western according to some administrators.  According to a New York Times article the business school at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, last fall, started charging junior and seniors an additional $500 more tuition than underclassmen.  Iowa State also started this type of additional charge for their engineering department and has plans to raise the additional cost another $500 per year for the next two years. The University of Kansas started charging different tuition prices in the early ’90s.  Washburn University  just started differential tuition in the school of business and school of nursing.    ìMany excellent schools have studied this solution and adopted it,î Steven Estes, dean of professional studies said.  This method of cost recovery by discipline seems to be fair according to Jimm MacGregor, associate professor and past salary chair. If you are majoring in an area which has a greater cost of faculty such as the sciences, business and engineering, that cost could be passed on to you in the form of higher tuition.  This also seems fair because these careers tend to pay better once you enter the job market.   ìI think it is a fairly reasonable idea to charge more for some degree programs,î MacGregor said. However, this idea has a ways to go at Western before it is accepted. Many administrators including Joseph Bragin, provost and vice president for academic and student affairs oppose the idea of differential tuition. ”I donít feel that we should be putting a premium on one discipline versus another,” Bragin said.  According to the New York Times article, one of the universal concerns is that economically challenged students would not be able to participate in the higher cost degrees. Lower income students could cluster in the less expensive fields.   The article also quotes Richard Fass, vice president for planning at Pamona, a private liberal arts college in California, saying educators there considered it fundamental for students to feel part of the larger college, not segmented by differential costs. ìThe entire curriculum is by design available to all students,î Fass said. Associate Professor and Business Department Chair Carol Roever said ìI do not like the idea of charging more by discipline because not everyone would be able to have their choice due to their income.”  If Western did decide to increase tuition for its business, science and engineering it could mean a reduction of enrollment in its most popular disciplines.  This effect could damage all of the university and undermine its goals.  There is a benefit to the history department, for example, to have high enrollment in the business department. These business students must have some history classes to get their degree.  Therefore, with more students in business there should be more demand for history classes.   However there is a feeling of resentment among some of the students in a level tuition university.    ìI do not like the idea of paying a higher tuition just so the business department can higher more expensive professors,î Western student Justin Lee said.  The students who major in disciplines such as music, arts and history are literally paying some of their tuition to offset the cost of the business department and to educate the business students.   The business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi uses the phrase ìJoin us now or work for us laterî on their flyers that are plastered on the bulletin boards at Western. Not only could you work for them later but also you could be paying for their education now.