fall again By Natasha Bhuyan
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Monday, April 4, 2005
Print this

Enrollment for summer sessions is down compared to last year, which could be the result of increased summer session tuition.

As of Friday, 12,293 students were enrolled in summer session classes, 19 percent lower than last year, said Debbie Harris, a senior business manager for summer and winter sessions in the Office of Curriculum and Registration.

Harris said members of the summer session office attributed the decrease in students to increased summer session tuition.

Last summer, the cost of a three-unit course coupled with mandatory fees for undergraduates was $592.07, according to the Bursar's Office.

This summer, tuition and fee costs jumps to $704.13. Residents and nonresidents pay the same tuition during the summer.

The rise in summer tuition is due to tuition hikes applied in the fall, as summer tuition is determined by fall tuition plus a $5.50 per credit hour fee for services such as the library.

In the fall, the cost of taking a three-unit course and fees for undergraduate residents was $642.13, according to the Bursar's Office.

But this year, administrators also tacked on an additional $11 surcharge to summer tuition per credit hour to cover increasing utility costs like air conditioning.

The plan is expected to bring in $650,000 in additional summer tuition revenue, but with less students enrolling, that might not be the case, according to a financial bulletin.

The decrease in summer session enrollment may hurt departments the most, because some depend on the revenue to be spent on operations for the following fiscal year.

Chris Segrin, department head of communication, said $30,000 of summer revenue is rolled over to pay portions of staff salaries.

Harris said because enrollment for presession is open until May 16 and the first session is open until June 8, there is still time for numbers to pick up.

Last year, summer session saw an overall 9 percent drop in enrollment compared to 2003.

"It's hard to predict what students are going to do," Harris said. "We are not starting to panic yet."