 "Photo: Jacqueline Gilles/The Daily Texan")
Private universities and colleges in Texas are working to mitigate the recession’s effect on student enrollment, an effort that has succeeded so far according to survey results released this week by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
Responses from 284 private institutions throughout the nation projected a rise in average enrollment by 0.2 percent above the previous fall, providing some short-term relief for those in the private sector worried about an impending drop for the academic year.
Due to the health of the nation’s economy, people perceive the cost of higher education is a source of concern, said Tony Pals, a spokesman for the association.
“There had been concern ever since the recession started that students and families would be scared off in mass numbers,” Pals said.
He said that significant increases in financial aid provided by universities and decreased tuition hikes have helped keep enrollment stay steady.
On average, private universities that responded to the survey said they increased their tuition rates by 4.3 percent, Pals said.
“That is the lowest rate in 37 years,” Pals said.
Pals said student aid would likely be the last place most institutions would look to for budget cuts if the recession proves lengthy enough. Schools could cut from salaries or staffing in the future, he said.
Carol McDonald, president of Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas, the local branch of the national association, said enrollment trends during the last 15 years in Texas were a source of confidence.
McDonald said while a similar study has not been done at the state level, numbers show student enrollments have not changed.
“We expect it to hold steady,” she said.
Chris Muñoz, vice president for enrollment at Rice University, said increases in financial aid for incoming students helped keep enrollment up.
Families with annual incomes of $80,000 or less will have 100 percent of need eligibility met by the university, while higher-income families will have loans in financial aid packages capped at $10,000 for four undergraduate years.
“The bottom line is [Rice] ended up this year with an increase in overall enrollment of 14 percent,” he said.
KC Pospisil, marketing and events coordinator for admission at Concordia University in Austin, said many students gave financial reasons, including the perceived cost of tuition, for not wanting to attend the school.
“We have had to work a little harder to keep our numbers at average,” Pospisil said.
Pospisil said revamped financial aid and increased individual attention for students have helped keep losses to a minimum, along with a student base from in-state sources less likely to go outside of Texas for higher education.
“Texas is lucky that most of its students will go in-state,” Pospisil said. “That goes for private and public universities both.”
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