The Montre
WHE
Volume IV, Number V
dent Voice
ONE
757 November 19, 2003
King & Cabinet Shrink Tuition Hike
By Kortney Blythe
In a meeting between the
Board of Trustees, President’s
Cabinet, and Interim President
Dr. Don King, the previously
announced 8.1 percent ($1,502)
spike in tuition dropped to 7.6
percent ($1,408).
This new figure breaks down
to a 7 percent increase in tuition
($988) for a new total of $ 15,108
and a 9.5 percent increase in
room and board ($420) for
a new total of $4,862. The
total tuition for the 2004-2005
school year presently stands at
$19,970.
In the 10-31 Whetstone, King
cited the primary reasons for
the tuition boost, “three faculty
positions need to be filled [and]
for three [and four] consecutive
years the faculty and staff have
not received increases in their
compensation.”
“Faculty and staff received
a four percent increase in
2000-01. It should be pointed
out that while employees have
not received a salary increase
since then, the college has paid
the equivalent of a 2.5 percent
increase, which is tax free to,
the employee, in the form of
increased contributions to the
college's health insurance pro
gram,” Dirk Wilmoth notes.
Two years ago, the budget was
so tight that current employees
had to forfeit their retirement
for six months.
“At some point the bleeding
has to stop,” King adds. The
lack of income augmentation is
Continued on Page 7
Colleges
'□E-’D3
tuition
% Increase
Current
Cost
Students
Majors
Minors
Clubs/
Organizations
MONTRJEAT
COUEGt
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B%
-S14.1E1
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■ 15
7 IB.:;;'
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Mars Hill
S14.5DD
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33
43
Lees-
McRae
S13,4B8
7.5%
«14,5D0
7DD
. E7
19
E5
Warren
Wilson
S15,54B
7.4%
»1B,B74
7BB
43
EG
IE
Gardner
Webb
S13,EE0
7.1%
S14,1BD
l,BBO
35
55
54
Lenoir-
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S15.3BS
9.4%
S1B.45B
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unknown
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5.4%
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14
14
Montreat Helps Fund Bible Majors
by Lyndsay Mayer
North Carolina residents
receive the Legislative Tuition
Grant, a tuition credit of $1,800
for attending private colleges
within the state. Private schools
also receive an additional grant
of $1,100 for each North Caro
linian attending their institution
as a full-time student.
This grant, called the State
Contractual Scholarship Fund,
is meant to provide additional
scholarship opportunities for in
state students based upon their
financial need. These financial
aid programs were established
to encourage North Carolina
residents to fill the 9,000 plus
vacancies at private schools.
which would save taxpayers
the $9,500 per student in subsi
dized costs for the public UNC
system.
Montreat College has recently
experienced a glitch in this free-
money matrix. “State law,” says
Lisa Lankford, Dean of Finan
cial Aid, “denies this funding
to students pursuing a degree
in teligious studies or prepar-'
ing for a career in the ministry
field.”
This statute has been in
effect for a number of years,
but the college’s interpretation
of religious programs allowed
for the continuation of state
funding awarded to Bible and
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of
your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. l am
the LORD.”
- Leviticus 19:18
Religion majors. This past year,
heeding the advice of the North
Carolina Association of Inde
pendent Colleges and Universi
ties (AICU), the Administration
turned down state monies with
regard to Bible and Religion
majors. State institutional audits
are expected within the year “to
ensure compliance,” says Dr.
Dirk Wilmoth, Vice President
for Finance.
Junior Greg Noble is from
Louisville, KY and so he never
received the NC state grants.
The Bible and Religion major
was active on the committee
last year, however, that re-wrote
the Bible and Religion course
descriptions in the college
catalog. The revisions were an
unsuccessful attempt to circum
vent the state’s policy on fund
ing religious studies programs.
We decided to take out the word
‘ministry’” explains Noble,
rather than “[leaving] it in there
and seeing if we could get pri
vate donor contributions.”
Despite the changes to the
catalogue, college administra
tors were still urged by AICU to
reject state funding to Bible and
Religion majors.
Lankford estimates there are
at least 15 students affected by
this state tuition cut, but says,
“[the College has] covered the
amount lost by these students
with institutional dollars.”
Wilmoth agrees, saying, “all
of the aid was replaced; the
students did not feel the differ
ence.”
Senior Tara Jobson, another
Bible and Religion major from
Winston-Salem, NC says she
got a letter from the college
in January of this year saying
that the state was taking her
scholarship away because
it doesn’t support religious
majors. Jobson was assured that
her tuition assistance would be
funded instead by the college,
through the Whitehead scholar
ship.
“I’m really grateful the col
lege stepped in like they did,”
says Jobson. “If 1 was at a
state school studying religion,
they might have just yanked
that money. Montreat said I
deserved the money no matter
what, and they covered every
cent.”