By Kenny Porpora

Tuition for undergraduate students at the University has increased this semester, leaving many students worried they may not be able to keep up with the price of education. Standard University tuition for undergraduates for the 2007-08 academic year increased 8 percent since last spring, raising the cost from $23,800 to $25,700. “The money has been disbursed to fund areas in need of extra support, including more personnel added to the Center for University Advisement, the Student Affairs parent office, Student Services, renovation for buildings, new technologies and seven to eight added positions for full-time faculty,” said Melissa Connolly, the vice president of University Relations. For some students, the added price burden may be too much to handle. Ben Golden, a junior, was forced to take only 15 credits and bypass a class that he needed to take because it was too expensive. Junior Ashley Hughes needed to fit a second job into her already full schedule to afford costs. “I understand this is part of the process,” Hughes said. “But sometimes it becomes overwhelming. As a junior, it feels like I’m paying for advancements in a school that I’ll have graduated from long before I ever see the changes. I just hope they spend the money wisely.” Golden is upset over how the school uses his money without asking him where it should be spent. “I’m paying thousands of dollars a year and never once has anyone ever asked me where I’d like to see my own money go,” Golden said. “I don’t get it.” Connolly explained that through town halls, student government, the virtual drop-box, open office hours and University senate, students can make suggestions about what changes they would like to see. “The endowment is entirely fund-raised,” Connolly said, explaining that tuition the University collects does not enter the endowment. In comparison to Boston University, the University’s tuition is $9,230 less a year. Compared to New York University, the University’s cost is about $7,600 less a year. In an e-mailed comment from the financial aid office at NYU, officials said that tuition increases are a part of keeping the school alive, with all of the necessary modernization it needs to compete at the level its students deserve. Connolly said the major contributors to tuition increases are rising costs for technology, energy and employee benefits. Another reason operating costs for the University have risen, she said, is increased government scrutiny of international students. Reporting requirements have expanded in the past few years, forcing the University to collect more data on international students. “In the end, it’s all about increasing the value of the education,” Connolly said. “We’re here to give the Hofstra students the most for their money, to make sure their degree means something. And although it may mean more money, it also means a better, more fulfilling education.”