Tuition: Price, Cost, and Value
Introduction
At Western University of Health Sciences, we recognize two crucial issues of interest to our students: the special nature of health professions education and the distinction between the cost and price of that education. Explaining the relationship of these issues can be a difficult task, but if you are considering a degree program at WesternU, we urge you to take the time to read the following.
Cost and Price
Let's start with the distinction between "the cost" and "the price" of running our University.
"The cost" is what the University spends to educate a student - everything from salaries, educational equipment, buildings and insurance to computers and energy and security. It is the total expenditures for the entire educational enterprise we call WesternU.
"The price" is what students are charged for that education - the amount of tuition and fees found in our catalog each year. Full tuition at WesternU covers only about 85 percent of what it actually costs to educate a student. Moreover, tuition rate increases do not follow consumer price increases, because the goods and services we purchase to operate Western University are different from those contained in the Consumer Price Index. Books and journals, construction, maintenance and scientific equipment increase at higher rates than the CPI.
Additionally, Western University of Health Sciences, as a private institution, functions at no expense to taxpayers. Tuition is lower at public universities not because of greater efficiencies, but because of sizeable state subsidies from taxpayers. The cost of providing the educational experience is basically the same for public and private universities.
Special Nature of Western University
While it is true that WesternU must employ sound business practices, we are, above all, an educational institution. This means we are the repository of knowledge, the site of exploration, the catalyst for personal growth, the center of human understanding and one of the sources for the development of the country's health professions workforce.
A WesternU education is an experience that touches and enriches a student's life in a profound way. It develops bonds with classmates and the University that will continue after graduation and throughout your career. While it is essential that we control costs and make Western University of Health Sciences affordable to every qualified applicant, it is also essential that we never do anything to weaken our education program in an effort to make it less expensive.
Value
Western University of Health Sciences is set in a climate of competent, caring and compassionate people, where innovation and growth are encouraged and enabled. As a result, there is a value-added component that makes WesternU unique. We have earned a national reputation, our graduates obtain the best internships and residencies and professional employment, and we increasingly attract support from foundations and philanthropic sources. In order to sustain this quality, we must continue to invest in critical human and material resources, including:
- Support for faculty and staff. Since WesternU is highly labor intensive, salaries and benefits absorb a much greater share of expenditures than typical in the nonacademic world. Salaries and benefits for employees represent approximately two-thirds of our total operating costs.
- Investment in facilities, equipment and up-to-date technology. We must ensure that the campus and its facilities are safe, attractive and comfortable.
- Support services. Students, faculty, and staff must have the most current services, such as financial aid, campus security and library and information learning resources.
- Administrative expertise. We must employ individuals with a wide range of administrative and legal expertise, both to protect WesternU's institutional interests and to handle the host of increasingly complicated and costly regulatory requirements from governmental and accrediting agencies.
- Financial expertise. We also need to employ qualified professionals to handle sophisticated financial matters, including fund-raising and investments.
To take on the calling of a healer suggests that one's motivation goes beyond simply expecting a high financial return on one's investment. The time, and money, you are wisely investing in Western University of Health Sciences now will yield a lifetime of benefits to you and to the society you will serve.
How can one put a price tag on such an education?
Sources: National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities - Royce Stutzman, CPA
Write to the President
Send him your comments or questions at ppumerantz@westernu.edu or mail a letter to
Western University of Health Sciences
309 E. Second Street
Pomona, California 91766-1854
