To lessen ‘sticker shock,’

Warner Pacific cuts tuition a

big 23 percent

PORTLAND — College tuitions these days are rising enough to give families “sticker shock,” but one Christian college in Portland is taking a bold step to counter that trend.
Warner Pacific College last month announced a tuition restructuring plan aimed at significantly improving student access to its private education programs. Tuition and fees for incoming traditional undergraduate students in 2008-09 will be $16,630 — 23 percent lower than in 2007-08 and 37 percent lower than the $26,249 average cost of tuition and fees for four-year, private colleges and universities in Oregon and Washington in 2007-08, according to the national College Board.
This move will make Warner Pacific one of the most affordable private liberal arts colleges in the Pacific Northwest, offering families an attractive alternative between public institutions and higher-priced private colleges and universities.
“We want to make sure that students of all backgrounds have access to a Warner Pacific education — one that will equip them with the critical thinking skills, ethical values and a commitment to service the world needs,” said Warner Pacific President Jay Barber. “If cost is an obstacle, then we are compelled to take action that reduces that barrier.”
For many years, the cost of higher education in the United States has exceeded the annual rate of inflation. As tuition costs have risen, schools, including Warner Pacific, have had to offer more and more institutional aid to students, effectively discounting tuition. Warner Pacific believes that by restructuring its tuition and financial aid model, it will better reflect the affordability of its academic experience.
“There are so many students who would love the type of programs that Warner Pacific offers, but their families get ‘sticker shock’ and don’t believe they can afford it,” said Warner Pacific Director of Financial Aid Cindy Pollard. “This new tuition model gives families a more realistic sense of the cost of a Warner Pacific education at the outset.”
Warner Pacific makes this move from a position of strength. The college ranked No. 11 among western region baccalaureate colleges by U. S. News & World Report magazine’s 2008 America’s Best Colleges edition. Warner Pacific’s offerings are growing. In addition to the 22 baccalaureate and four graduate degrees the college currently offers, Warner Pacific plans to add majors in accounting, psychology and urban studies and minors in missions and peace studies in the next two years, and will begin two more graduate programs in accounting and teaching in the near future.
In the last few years, the college retired all debt and developed a new campus master plan last spring. Nearly all student residences on campus have been remodeled.
A $5 million renovation of Egtvedt Hall into a one-stop student services building — including registrar, student business office, admissions, financial aid, food services, bookstore and coffee house — will begin this spring as one of the first steps in the new campus plan.
Warner Pacific College is affiliated with the Churches of God, based in Anderson, Ind.