By: Omar K. Elmore, Staff Writer
On Friday, Nov. 4, Wofford sent out emails and letters to all students and parents regarding the rise in tuition for the next school term. This information wasn’t news to most as the Board of Trustees had already approved this increase weeks before, but the timing of this particular letter raised concerns not about the price of attendance, but the rising costs of various Interim projects.
Staff Writer Sheridan Kate Murray ’19 asked president Samhat about the rising costs during a Q&A session with the Old Gold and Black: “On-campus Interim classes are often inexpensive alternatives for those that can’t afford to go abroad,” she said. “However, there aren’t as many free Interims this year and the ones that have an additional fee are more expensive than last year.”
The same issue was raised during the Pizza with the Presidents event on Wednesday, Nov. 2. Student Body President Chris Paschal ’17 asked about the rise in tuition’s purpose and the impact of having more expensive Interim projects in conjunction with the escalating cost of tuition.
President Samhat responded by clarifying that the prices for Interim were set, for the most part, by faculty. Additionally, he has asked faculty to consider the future of Interim in general.
“I asked them to think about what they want to see from Interim in the future- the next five, 10 years,” he said. Possible changes to Interim could look like two-week or six-week programs.
Obviously, the tuition increase has caused a little bit of worry among students but Samhat assured those present at the pizza event. He said, “We plan to keep the average amount families actually pay out of pocket the same.”
He added that the tuition increase would be great for faculty and the Wofford Endowment:
“We have a lot of hard-working faculty and staff—people who work 24/7 to allow students to have the best experience,” he said. “I want those people to have the best standard of living I can allow.”
As for the endowment, Samhat noted that Wofford’ endowment is smaller than that of schools of comparable size. “Furman’s is at about 500 million dollars. Ours is only at about 140 million,” he said. “This increase can not only increase that endowment but account for the growth of Wofford in general. We planned for the new facilities but they are obviously not cost-free.”
