Evergreen students to pay more in tuition and fees this fall
It will cost more to attend The Evergreen State College in the fall after the Board of Trustee’s approved a series of fee hikes at its Thursday meeting.
The board also approved a new fee that aims to reverse the declining fortunes of the College Recreation Center, which houses the school’s gym and swimming pool.
The bottom line is this: The estimated cost to attend the four-year school full-time for a full-year will increase about $1,000, or 3.7%, to $28,669 for the 2025-26 school year, according to information shared at the meeting.
Prior to the board’s vote, college President John Carmichael explained the bigger picture, saying the overall cost of attending the school can be broken down into three areas: base tuition, mandatory fees and other costs, such as the cost of books and supplies, room and board, and transportation.
He elaborated on those “other costs.”
“This is a calculation that the financial aid office does in order to estimate what a student’s financial need is, and this is the calculation that they use to package financial aid offers to students,” he said.
“This is a category that I feel like is largely outside of our control,” Carmichael said. “We don’t — although we set room and board fees for on-campus students — we don’t control the local housing market or what food prices are. We don’t control transportation prices or gas prices. So the increase there is a little steeper, but it’s largely out of our control.”
The board approved slight hikes for fees familiar to students, such as those that cover housing and dining (room and board), and services and activities fees that support, among other things, the campus radio station, KAOS, and the student newspaper, The Cooper Point Journal.
But incoming and existing students also will face a new recreation fee in the fall of $4 per credit hour to “enhance the mental and physical health resources available to the Evergreen student body.”
“Recreation programs in the College Recreation Center are currently funded by services and activities fees and the college operating budget,” according to the college. “Since 2019, operational support for the CRC has been reduced by 45% and the open hours reduced by over 50%. In addition to fewer hours to access the CRC, the menu of programs and services has decreased due to the inability to provide adequate staffing, spaces, and equipment within budget.”
The recreation fee aims to reverse that trend.
“This new revenue would provide the opportunity to build CRC operations back to hours and facilities that are more consistent with industry standards in terms of hours, access, and equipment,” according to the college.
Attention lap swimmers: This is expected to result in increase access to the pool, which closed entirely in 2018, a spokeswoman said.
“Coming out of the pandemic, we were able to gradually build up a lifeguard staff and have been open to the public for over a year now,” said Kendra Johnson about the pool. “Our pool hours and access have increased, and with the addition of a recreation fee, we will now be able to expand our hours and pool access back to a full-day model.”
Another fee familiar to students is the clean energy fee, which is being increased for the first time since it was first implemented in the 2005-06 school year, according to the college.
The fee will rise from $1 per credit to $2 per credit.
“The fee increase for clean energy is primarily driven by rising utility costs,” college information reads. “Additionally, the Clean Energy Committee aims to ensure sufficient funds are available to support student, faculty, and staff-initiated projects and initiatives.”
Recently funded projects include a solar panel installation on the covered recreation pavilion, according to the college. The pavilion is located near student housing and the college’s main soccer field.
Although Carmichael spoke about the changes to fees and tuition, the board did not, deciding to vote on them in one fell swoop rather than discuss each item.
“We’ve reviewed this, both in committee and the full board level, at least once,” said Trustee Ed Zuckerman.
