Trustees zero in on latest comprehensive fee increase

Author: Brian Fung

The College's comprehensive fee could rise by at least five percent, and as much as 5.25 percent in the next academic year, officials familiar with the budgeting process say. While these numbers reflect a decrease over last year's growth rate of 5.3 percent, if the increase is approved by President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz in the next several weeks, the cost of attending the College for one year will increase to $49,372.78.

The disclosure follows a weekend presentation given by AnnMarie Wesolowski '08, chair of the Student Comprehensive Fee Committee, to the Board of Trustees on Feb. 15 in which she recommended the College increase the comprehensive fee for the 2008-2009 academic year by 4.93 percent. Wesolowski's presentation, entitled "Responsibility: Middlebury's Present and Future," sought to rein in what the committee saw as potentially unnecessary spending and turn greater attention to students currently studying at the College.

"We wanted [the Trustees] to strike a balance between concentrating on the future as well as on the present," said Wesolowski.

Citing recent investments by the College in local initiatives, Wesolowki described an institution whose interests have come to expand beyond the limits of the physical campus. The College's $18 million for a new Cross Street Bridge, to be donated over a 30-year period to the town of Middlebury, represents more than 16 percent of all revenue gathered through the 2007-2008 Comprehensive Fee. Add to that the roughly $2 million spent by the College in purchasing the Old Stone Mill, and another million that went towards constructing a new wing for the Town Hall Theater, and the numbers start adding up, said Wesolowski.

"We're wondering if this is the best use of our financial resources," she said. "Middlebury students want to be involved in the decisions the College makes and understand where their money is going."

The Student Comprehensive Fee Committee drew heavily upon a January survey, taken by more than 650 individuals, whose results suggested that students would like to see greater budgetary transparency at the College. Over 88 percent of respondents answered that they would be interested in learning more about the way the comprehensive fee is used, according to the survey.

In addition, while nearly 60 percent of respondents claimed that they were not the recipients of any financial aid, the same number also argued that improving financial aid should be the College's top priority.

The College's Strategic Plan already includes the continued development of financial aid programs as a key objective. In compliance with that goal, the Student Comprehensive Fee Committee allocated an additional $2,300 towards financial aid in its budget proposal for fiscal year 2009, which was distributed to trustees prior to Wesolowski's Feb. 15 presentation.

But the committee's initial recommendation may differ from the College's ultimate course regarding financial aid, depending on the administration's expectations.

"The wild card might in fact be financial aid," said Liebowitz in an interview. "I don't know to what extent students have grappled with the issue of how much more we should enrich our financial aid program, given what's out there in higher education."

Whatever differences might exist between Old Chapel and the student body on aid policies, both groups agree on the appropriate direction for the College on that front.

"Basically, we said we supported where they were going with it," said Wesolowski, "and we reinforced the fact that it is something that students care about deeply."

Exactly when the final numbers on the comprehensive fee will be released by the administration is still unclear. Previous years have seen formal announcements the day after the Trustees adjourned, but the College has also historically waited until weeks after the meetings to make a decision.