Cost benefit for USU business majors

Students paying more for a hopeful payoff

By Chase Christensen

Tuition for an in-state student at Utah State University starts at $2,606 per semester or $5,212 a year, according to the school. But for business majors tuition could be considerably more. The reason for the additional tuition is due to what the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business refers to as differential tuition. Differential tuition is an additional fee charged by the college of business in order to retain high quality teachers and programs, according to its website. But some students said they fail to see the effects and added benefits of the higher tuition.

“I understand that the additional money is supposed to go toward hiring better teachers and stuff,” said Smitty Hartley, a student majoring in business at USU. “But it still doesn’t seem that prestigious, especially considering how much more it makes tuition.”

Differential tuition for the 2012-13 school year is currently $2 per class for course levels 1000 and 2000. That fee then rises to $82 for class levels 3000, 4000 and 5000. The increase peaks at $299 for any class in the 6000 or 7000 level, according to the business school’s website. The site also shows that differential tuition is set to increase for the upcoming school year as well. The increase will take the cost for the 3000-5000 range to $97 and the 6000-7000 to $349 per class.

Administrators at the school of business said the increased revenue is necessary to help maintain the program in the current economy.

“Differential tuition has allowed us to recruit world-class faculty and to create and expand state-of-the-art programs for our students,” said Dave Patel, assistant dean at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. “We have also expanded our global learning and entrepreneurship offerings to provide our students with real-world experiences to complement their classroom education.”

The business school’s website also states that the implementation of differential tuition is due to the decreased state funding being provided to USU. Also that it cannot depend on state funding to keep pace with its aspirations to create a top business school, or with the demand of increased enrollment. The site also concedes that the school cannot promise there will be no further tuition hikes in the future.

“I’m sure that they are having a hard time paying for everything but so am I,” said Jared Clark, a USU student majoring in business. “The only difference is the funding I get doesn’t change and I can’t increase it like them by charging more.”