Whitworth University is changing the way it communicates its tuition rates to prospective students.
This year, the university has listed tuition and fees at about $55,000. That includes tuition, plus room and board and other fees. President Scott McQuilken says that’s a hefty amount which few students actually pay. He says it’s such a big number that it’s a quick turnoff for potential applicants.
“The market research suggests that somewhere between 70-75% of students will eliminate an institution that is $40,000 and above sticker price. So what that means is, real quick math, that means we only have a small fraction of the available market who are even going to consider Whitworth,” he said.
McQuilken says Whitworth will now separate its costs in communications with applicants, telling prospective students that next year’s tuition will be about $27,000. Room and board (for students who live in campus housing) will cost another $15,000. He says the university is also making it clear which students will quality for scholarships and how much those are worth. Students with 3.9 GPAs will qualify for $9,000 scholarships; students with 3.6-3.89 GPAs can receive $6,000; and students with 3.3-3.59 GPAs would collect $3,000.
“We'll have ongoing, talent scholarships for music, forensics, and others,” he said.
McQuilken stresses this doesn’t mean the cost of attending Whitworth is going down.
“Students moving forward will pay about the same as they would have paid,” McQuilken said. “What it does, it removes that layer of confusion about the coupons that we've all been giving students labeled as scholarships, but they have been always factored into the model of high sticker price, high discount.”
He’s hoping the move to simplify costs will convince more students and their parents to give Whitworth a deeper look.
“We're doing this at a time of actual strength and responsiveness to families. I think as much as anything, the message I want to share is, we've heard our families and we're responding to them,” he said.
McQuilken says he’s not sure removing the opaqueness from pricing will become the norm in U.S. higher education, but he says, for now, it’s the right move for Whitworth.
