By Melanie Kalmar

Believe it our not, tuition at some private universities in Illinois is headed south, and school administrators are anxious to get the word out about it.

How is that possible? Private colleges have always discounted tuition in much the same way a car salesmen negotiates deals. Parents are given a “sticker price” along with options for lowering the price.  Good negotiators receive hefty discounts.  Poor negotiators walk away paying higher tuition or simply walk away.      

It is the industry’s “dirty little secret,” says Brian Sajko, dean of admissions and financial aid at Eureka College who decided to do something about it almost two years ago.

That’s why Eureka, North Park and Roosevelt have all decided to do something about it.
Sajko devised a plan for Eureka that eliminated discounting and reduced tuition by 30 percent, making it almost comparable to what students paid in 1996.

“We gave a $5,700 discount to everyone upfront and changed our sticker price from $18,700 to $13,000,” Sajko said.  “It’s fair because everyone gets it.  You don’t need a lawyer to come in and negotiate the price.” 

School sponsored merit scholarships and government provided need based grants lower tuition even further. 

Thanks to some savvy marketing efforts and the resulting media attention, inquiries and deposits have increased by 40 percent, said Sajko.  Eureka, alma mater of President Ronald Reagan, is attracting applicants who would have been priced out of private universities in the past.

 The college plans to keep tuition affordable for everyone, said Sajko.  “Our goal is that when we do increase tuition, it is just a cost of living increase.”  

According to North Park University Dean of Enrollment and Director of Church Relations Mark Olson, tuition at the Chicago school was recently reduced by about 30 percent and, as a result, the university’s enrollment this fall is estimated to be up by 16 to 18 percent compared to normal increases of 3 to 5 percent. 

North Park’s restructured tuition plan is not retroactive to returning students, which Olson says is common practice at private universities.  Returning students are granted larger scholarships and grants and in the end, it balances out. 

Like Eureka, North Park will try to keep down its increases in tuition.

     Administrators at Roosevelt University in Chicago give their own reason for lowering tuition.  They claim that too many students were taking six years to graduate or dropping out because they couldn’t afford to finish their degrees.  The university reduced tuition as an incentive for students to graduate on time.  The change will go into effect this fall. 

Students taking 15 credit hours will receive close to a 12 percent discount in tuition, said Mary Hendry, Roosevelt’s vice president for enrollment and student services. 

The catch is, students taking 12, 13 or 14 credit hours pay for 15 credit hours. 

“We think we will increase the retention and graduation rate by charging students the same amount of money whether they take a minimal full-time load or up to 15 credit hours,” says Hendry.  “If they take more than 15 we add on a little surcharge.  The best deal is taking 15 credit hours.”

Hendry cannot predict what tuition will be in the future.  But she says the university will stick with the flat rate plan.

How did tuition at private schools get so high in the first place?  North Park’s Olson thinks he has the answer.

 “As with a lot of things in life, If it cost a lot of money it must be good,” he says.  “Higher education followed that line of thinking.”