On March 30, New School students learned that the administration plans to raise tuition by 3.5 percent, starting next fall. Tuition will increase to $21,780 per semester for students at Parsons, and to $21,040 per semester for Lang and the Performing Arts School, according to an email from Michelle Relyea, who oversees the Student Success Center.
That translates to an increase of about $750 a semester, or $1500 a year, at Parsons, and about $850, or $1700 a year, at Lang and the Performing Arts division.
The different rates of tuition increase for Lang and Performing Arts students are part of an effort “to achieve a single undergraduate tuition rate,” Relyea said in the email.
Needless to say, students were less than thrilled.
“If tuition goes up I probably won’t be attending this school and I really feel that they shouldn’t be raising it,” said Parsons transfer student, Keiron Green.
Green hopes the administration will offer more aid as a result of the tuition increase.
Although the price of tuition is increasing, financial aid will adjust to match the percentage of aid previously given to financially burdened students, administrators said.
Even some students defended the increase. “In terms of proportions, the administration and President David Van Zandt are doing a very good job at keeping the discount rate the same,” said Nico Galvan, Jazz student and University Student Senate Co-chair. “The discount rate is the proportion to your scholarship and the total tuition. For example, if the school was $20,000 and the discount rate was 50% my scholarship would be 50% of the $20,000. I’d be getting a $10,000 scholarship. The proportion is very close to what it was in previous years.”
Nevertheless, most students voiced their disappointment with the tuition change.
“I saw that they were going to try to match the financial need of students based on the increase,” said Deja Holden, a BAFA student majoring in communication design and politics. “For students who are already struggling to make a living, it sounds like everything is going to be much harder come next term.”
Other students are asking administration to provide more details about the tuition increase.
“Once again The New School is robbing me blind, except, not so blind, in front of my face but I have no say in it,” said BAFA Architecture and Interdisciplinary Science major Jasmin Wright. “Can you break the increase down with some transparency so then maybe I’d want to invest the 3 percent? Is it going to buy me metro cards or allow me to live off campus? Are you giving me better jobs or some more assistance?”
Additional fees for the 2015-2016 tuition increase, including the University Service and Student Senate Fees, will be $138 for Lang and Performing Arts students and $228 for Parsons Students; an additional $90 fee is for the Parsons Academic Supplies Box. In addition to the undergraduate programs, the tuition will rise for the all graduate programs as well.