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2008–09 Tuition Update: An Investment in Excellence

At Seattle Pacific University, we try to balance the financial pressures students face with the increasing costs associated with providing the excellent education they’ve come to expect from a premier Christian university.

After careful consideration, the SPU Board of Trustees has approved President Eaton’s recommendation for the following tuition, fees, and room-and-board rates for 2008–09:

Tuition	$26, 457
ASSP & Technology Fees (mandatory)	$      360
Room and Board	$  8, 454
Total	$35, 271
Total fees may vary depending on a student’s choice of meal plan and housing. Costs shown above refer to tuition for a full-time undergraduate student with a traditional residence hall double room and a platinum meal plan. The overall total cost increase year to year is 6.2 percent. A complete breakdown of all fees for 2008–09 is available.

A Great Value

Seattle Pacific was again ranked by U.S. News & World Report as a “best value” at No. 5 in the West for 2008. U.S. News considers schools in this category as “great schools at great prices.” SPU’s current tuition rate is ninth out of 10 comparable private institutions.

SPU is also at the median tuition cost for the top 10 comparable institutions within the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). All of this means that SPU is a great value and a great investment for you.

Our Pledge to You

We seek to make the price you pay as reasonable and competitive as possible related to other institutions of comparable high quality. We encourage you to check this out with other private and Christian universities.

We are committed to providing our students with a university education of the highest value. What you receive from Seattle Pacific University is literally the best that money can buy. You receive an outstanding education that is informed by our vision to engage the culture and change the world and shaped by our deeper, signature commitments. Our students can be proud of the education they receive from Seattle Pacific.

Just Where Does Your Tuition Dollar Go?

What is supported by the University budget? Here are a few highlights from the 2008–09 Budget:

Financial Aid: Grants and scholarships are always a priority budget commitment for us, and this year is no exception. In 2008–09, we will increase the financial aid budget by nearly $2,062,000 — an increase of 8.6 percent over last year.

We know that financial aid is critical for most of our students, and we are committed to increasing the financial aid budget as tuition and other costs continue to rise. Financial aid is distributed in a manner that encourages both new and continuing students to persist and graduate from SPU.

Faculty and Staff Salaries: Another top priority for Seattle Pacific is paying our people competitive salaries so that we continue to attract and keep world-class faculty and staff. This is central to educational quality. We will increase the salary and benefit pools for faculty and staff by some $2,689,000 next year.

In addition, we will add three faculty positions to teach in the Common Curriculum. We recruit and hire and support Christian faculty of the highest quality. And we are confident that we have one of the finest faculties of any Christian university in the country.

Facilities and Programs: The budget also allows us to maintain our residence halls, dining facilities, classrooms, and laboratories; to support our athletic programs; to invest in the critical ongoing operations of the University; to increase our reserves to ensure financial strength now and for the future; and much more.

An Investment in Change

Our vision to engage the culture and change the world drives everything that we do, and we aim to use all of our financial resources to support that compelling vision. The end result is a first-rate education, from one of the finest Christian universities in the world.

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