Major Costs Rise

Students often consider tuition costs and affordability when choosing a college, but few would ever think to consider the price when choosing a major.

Some state universities have begun to charge differential tuition rates to cover the costs of more expensive majors.

According to UConn Provost Peter Nicholls, engineering, business, and computer science fields are usually affected by these additional charges, but the university does not charge more for these majors.

UConn has refrained from imposing these tuition rates due to the significant private, state, and federal funding the university receives.

There are disadvantages and advantages to this approach.

"On the plus side, we are not charging students more for technical and business degrees and therefore we are attracting more students into these fields where the state has a real need," Nicholls said. "On the downside, it means that students enrolled in 'cheaper' majors are subsidizing those in more expensive majors."

At some schools, the differential pricing is affecting the major choices of lower-class students, according to a New York Times article published in July. The students are forced to forgo their first major choice to avoid incurring more financial debt.

"Most universities with differential tuition are using some of the money, 20 to 25 percent, for additional financial aid to offset the impact," according to the article.

"At Arizona State University (ASU) we pay the fee for all those who cannot afford it, so the fee does not prevent those who cannot afford it from taking these majors," said Elizabeth Capaldi, ASU's provost in an e-mail response.

ASU imposes additional charges on journalism, business, engineering and design majors. The charges cover the extra expenses connected with these programs.

"Journalism just started charging this fall for entering students - the other programs have been doing this awhile," Capaldi said. "In the case of journalism, the extra fee will pay for the extensive high level of technology used and the costs of keeping it up to date."

This fall, ASU is charging upperclassman in the journalism program a $250 per semester charge above the basic $2,411 tuition for Arizona students.

Few alternatives seem available to the universities affected by differential pricing. Schools like ASU, the University of Wisconsin, and Rutgers University do not receive enough funding from private, federal, and state sources and thus are forced to impose these rates on students.

"Usually tuition covers about 25 percent of the cost of education, and does not pay at all for buildings, technology et cetera," Capaldi said.

The remainder of the financial burden in these schools is placed on the students. The rationale that some universities give is that the student in these programs benefits from the cutting-edge equipment; that in the long run, it helps them get a better job, which reimburses them for that extra cost, according to Capaldi.

Contact Michelle Firestone at Michelle.Firestone@UConn.edu