Tuition increases 4 percent

There are literally millions of ways for a broke college student to spend $1,317. You could put 329 gallons of gas in your tank, or buy 45 color ink cartridges for your printer. Feeling frivolous? You could splurge on 1,163 hot wings at Buffalo Wild Wings or get two venti drinks from Starbucks every day of the semester – one for yourself and the other to persuade your coffee-loving professor out of a quiz.

Unfortunately students at Corban University won’t be going on any wing-spending binges anytime soon. This is because their price of attendance rose from $33,447 to $34,764 for the 2012-2013 school year.

While Corban students are feeling the pinch in their pocketbooks, they are not alone. According to USA Today, tuition at four-year public universities rose by 8 percent this year, while Corban rose only 4 percent.

One might think that Corban’s growing student body would bring the per-student cost down, but that’s a misconception, said Vice President for Business Kevin Brubaker. He explained that the effect is quite different because more students bring more needs to be addressed.

“As we grow there is always a presence saying that we need to have the right facilities that will meet our students’ needs,” said Brubaker.

While updated facilities and a low student-to-teacher ratio are some of the great things about Corban, these characteristics do cost. The new Caulkins Building, for example, cost between $450,000 to $500,000, said Brubaker.

Needs like these, along with other economic forces, drive up tuition.

However, Corban’s desire is not to be a high-priced institution, said Brubaker. This is why when tuition gets raised, financial aid generally does as well. In the past four years, aid given to students has increased by 6 percent.

Student Taylor Tuepker is excited about the scholarships the school provides through academics, athletics, and other financial aid.

As she begins her third year at Corban, Tuepker is thankful that tuition has increased less than $3,000 since she began in 2010. She notes that Corban charges roughly $35,000 compared with the $ 54,000 it costs to attend nearby Willamette University.

“They could have raised tuition just like George Fox, Willamette, Reid, Lewis and Clark but they haven’t,” said Tuepker. “They have kept their students in mind and kept the price down.”