Comprehensive Fee Leaps to $38,100

Author: Jonathan White

President John McCardell made his annual presentation to the cabinet of the Student Government Association (SGA) Sunday evening, and recommended a $38,100 comprehensive fee for the 2003-2004 academic year. This fee represents a 6.1 percent increase in tuition over the current academic year.
The SGA's Fee Committee also reported Sunday and proposed a fee of $37,964 for the coming year. This year the Comprehensive Fee Committee was given the additional task of projecting a year ahead. For the 2005 fiscal year the committee proposed a fee set at $39,995. The committee was charged with making this additional projection in order to evaluate the impact of the new library and the completion of the new Atwater residences on College expenses.
The increase in the comprehensive fee reflects both the problem of a decreased endowment due to the current economic climate, as well as the need for Middlebury to remain competitive in the job market for both staff and faculty. A commitment to retaining and attracting the best faculty made increases in salaries essential. As such, the College will increase expenditures next year to continue increases in expenditures on salaries and wages. According to Martin Wesolowski '03, chair of the SGA's Comprehensive Fee Committee, the College must also account for benefit increases for staff, including ever-increasing medical insurance costs.
An additional factor that the Comprehensive Fee Committee took into account was the problem of increases in certain operational expenditures. Rising fuel costs, for example, are driving increases in food costs by upping expenses involved in food storage, transportation and distribution.
Middlebury's pursuit of a comprehensive fee for tuition is based on the grounds of inclusion and a desire to prevent stratification within the student body. Wesolowski '03 described the merits of the policy, "Its nature prevents the exclusion of any member of the student body from participation in any activity or from the use of any facility on campus."
McCardell elaborated on the value of the comprehensive fee, saying, "The philosophy of the Comprehensive Fee is time-honored, and is based on the assumption that someone coming to Middlebury is receiving a comprehensive experience."
McCardell noted that Middlebury is currently about 60 percent dependent on the comprehensive fee as a portion of its entire budget. A decade ago, Middlebury was over 70 percent dependent on the comprehensive fee. Reflecting on the slow decline in this dependence, McCardell added, "The trend has been a good one and one that I hope will continue."
He said, however, that given the College's slumping endowmnent, "You need to turn to giving and fees and that is what Middlebury will be doing next year." The fee can be seen as a constant that serves to balance a sometimes unpredictable endowment return.
Wesolowski noted that his committee was under the Trustee's final figure due to differences in accounting for staff salary expenditures. Wesolowski also commented that Middlebury is unique among its peers in allowing a student voice into the matter of school tuition.
Given that committee's proposed comprehensive fee for the 2004-2005 academic year falls five dollars short of $40,000, Wesolowski believes that the SGA comprehensive fee committee will reconvene to tackle this looming landmark.