Tuition fees will be increasing by 5% at Texas Wesleyan University, affecting students returning for the next academic year. For full-time students, tuition fees will be approximately $36,128 for the year; part-time students will pay $1,205 per credit hour.

“Increasing tuition will allow us to continue offering academic programming and on-campus resources that enhance the student experience and prepare students for life after graduation,” said Alan Liebrecht, vice president of enrollment, marketing and communications, in an official statement.

A number of students have expressed concern about the rising rates, even though Liebrecht states the tuition increases are in line with those at other schools.

“It doesn’t make me feel good,” said Gavin Lopez, music education major and first year student, on hearing of the price increase. “If anything, it pushes me towards transferring,” he said.
Ruth Urbina, a third year biochemistry major, said that when enrolling as an international student, she didn’t know much about the full costs she’d be taking on, including the price of labs and on-campus living. “They said that we would have to pay $10,000 per semester, but that just increases,” Urbina said. “I’m grateful to God that I have a scholarship that helps me, but it’s still a lot.”

Madison Wooley, a third year music education major, had been expecting the price increase. “Every single year they kinda raise it a little bit,” Wooley said, adding that she couldn’t see how the price increase was justified when many areas on campus, such as sidewalks and gates, are broken or need replacing. “There’s not anything being changed or fixed about Wesleyan, [the money] is being wasted.”

“Dorms and student living could be a lot better,” added Lopez. “The RAs do a great job, but seeing what they’re trying to do with the little amount they have, it can be very difficult for them.”

“Tuition is getting higher and higher, and the scholarships aren’t covering it,” Wooley continued. “When you work a job and you’re trying to survive by yourself, it’s not working too well.”

Wooley also expressed an intention to transfer. “If you can go to a different college that offers the same exact degree with the same exact classes but at a cheaper price, that’s what you want to do.”

Sarays Flores, a second year majoring in exercise science, proposed a possible solution that would keep prices lower. “I know that at [Dallas Baptist University], their tuition is [more consistent] because they don’t really raise their academic scholarships,” she said. “Instead, they literally give students this huge packet of the [external] scholarships that they can apply to each semester or each year. I know a couple students that go there and they ended up getting a lot of those scholarships.”

Liebrecht understands that the fee increase may be a concern for students. “We are piloting $1,000 Ram Resilience Grants for a group of highly vulnerable students,” he said. Students who are eligible should have already been notified by mail and email.

For more information on the scholarships Texas Wesleyan offers, follow this link.