Mid-Missouri College Reaping Dividends From Lower Tuitions

Most colleges and universities in the state have been trying to keep their heads above water in this time of shrinking state dollars by raising tuition, with the possible exception of one school in central Missouri. While the University of Missouri raised its tuition by about 15 percent for this school year, Westminster College in Fulton dropped its cost for new students by nearly 20 percent. Pat Kirby is the dean of enrollment at the small, private school. He says the school wanted to increase the number of students attending his school. Kirby says it’s working, and it has also helped raise the level of those wanting to come to the school. Kirby admits trying to meet rising costs for colleges by getting more students to attend does not work for every school, especially for colleges such as the University of Missouri where the student population is already large and would not benefit from getting larger.