By Steve Huffman
Salisbury Post
The cost of attending Catawba College will increase 7 percent for the coming year according to information released by the school this week.
For students who live on campus, the increase brings the total cost of a year’s education ó including room and board ó to $29,990.
A year ago, the cost was $28,026.
Members of the college’s board of trustees approved the rate increase at a recent meeting. The prices set for the 2008-2009 academic year were:
– Tuition, $22,290 (it was $20,836 a year ago);
– Room, $4,480;
– Board, $3,220.
A year ago, the college didn’t separate the cost of room and board, setting the price of the two at a combined $7,190.
Despite the increase, Tonia Black-Gold, a spokeswoman for Catawba, said college officials strive to keep a student’s education affordable.
She noted that 95 percent of the school’s students get financial aid in some form, be it through scholarships or work study.
“We want students to have a private college experience without taking on a lot of debt,” Black-Gold said. “We’re very cognizant that a private school has to be affordable.”
Catawba officials noted that a year ago the school ranked 13th in cost among 39 private institutions of higher learning in North Carolina.
Dr. Robert Knott, Catawba’s president, said the increases approved by the board of trustees would keep the college at approximately the same rank.
He told board members that in recent years, Catawba’s increases had been generally in line with those approved by other private colleges in the state.
According to CNNMoney .com, the average cost of a four-year private college jumped to $30,367 last year, the first time it broke the $30,000 barrier.
According to the College Board, a nonprofit association of 4,500 schools, average costs at colleges and universities rose faster than inflation, as they have for the past 11 years.Contact Steve Huffman at 704-797-4222 or shuffman@salisburypost.com.