Longwood College
UJ
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Farmville Virginia
ROTUNDA
SIXTY SEVENTH YEAR
TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 1988
APOTo Host Conference By TIM BRANDENBURG Alpha Phi Omega's (APO), Longwood chapter will hold the annual Sectional Conference here on April 15-17. APO representatives from the chapters at Emory & Henry, Radford University, The University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and William & Mary will be attending. Representatives from chapters in Mayland and North Carolina will also be attending. The Conference's speakers will be Dr. George Healy, Dr. Sue Saunders, Dr. William Harbour, MaryKaye Benton, and Section Representative Steve Wilson. The Conference has the goals of education of the Conference's attendees, interaction of APO members from different chapters and to solve problems that the chapters may have.
Tuition Holds Next Year PARENTS DANCE IN THE STRETS
Campus fraternities kicked off GREEK WEEK 1988 on Sunday with song and games and a joint effort stroll about campus.
Finnish Students Came and Went
A group of 35 Finnish students came to see professors they'd met while the instructors were teaching at the University of Jyvaskyla in recent years. By NANCY RUFF Thirty-five fourth-year Finnish students visited Longwood March 30-April 6. The students, physical education majors, on spring break, from the University of Jyvaskyla, traveled 13-20 hours via
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Helsinki and Frankfurt before arriving at Dulles National Airport. After another four hours by bus, the Finns reached Farmville. Dr. Nelson Neal, who taught dance at the University of Jyvaskyla for five months, es-
corted the group to Nags Head and Kitty Hawk over Easter weekend. He also gave them a tour of Richmond, and Charlottes ville. The students were impressed with the geographical variety in such a small area, in contrast to Finland, which has few nice beaches and no mountains. The athletic, tanned visitors also saw the Catalinas, Longwood's synchronized swim team and the dance program, "Winds of Color." Monday night the Finns performed the "Liikunailta" to a full house in the dance studio. The entertaining show combined moderri dance, comedy acts and Finnish songs. The guests wrapped up their visit with a party at D.T. Bradley's Tuesday night before leaving the following day. One student, holding up a giant piggy bank, instructed his fellow Finns to deposit coins so that Longwood students might visit Finland.
There will be no tuition increase at Longwood College next year for Virginia residents. In a rare departure from the national norm of recent years, tuition for in-state residents for the 1988-89 academic year will be $1,488, the same as this year. About 90 percent of Longwood's undergraduate students are Virginia residents. The college's Board of Visitors set the new tuition and fees Friday. "This is very rare; it might be a first for Longwood," said Richard Hurley, vice president for business and legislative affairs. Dan Hix, finance coordinator for the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, agreed that the decision was "unusual." The only similar cases in recent years occurred at Virginia State University, where tuition and fees for all students remained the same in 1984-86, and with the state's community colleges, where tuition dropped slightly last year. "Tuition at Virginia's colleges and universities held steady for a few years in the mid-1970s, but has been going up ever since," he said. "Increases in tuition have been averaging between eight and 10 percent in recent years." Last year, tuition and fees increased by an average of 7.6 percent at state-assisted colleges and universities, and increases also averaged 7.6 percent at private institutions in Virginia. Longwood's overall increase last year was 4.2 percent for Virginia residents and 5.9 percent for out-of-state students. Next year, at Longwood, the overall cost for a Virginia student living on-campus will increase by only $100 - from $5,398 to $5,498, or 1.8 percent - for those on the 15-meal plan. About 70 percent of the students choose this meal plan. The $100 overall increase reflects a $140 increase in room and board and a $40 decrease in the comprehensive fee. About 85 percent of the students live on-campus. Tuition for out-of-state students at Longwood will be $3,274, a $298 increase. The total cost for out-of-state students living in residence halls will rise from $6,886 to $7,284, or six percent. The decision to hold the line on in-state tuition was prompted by optimism over projected enrollment for next year. "For the first time since I've been here, we feel comfortable in our enrollment projections. We've had two strong years of enrollment, and everything looks good for the coming year." "The registrar's office has scheduled about 1,900 students for pre registration for next fall, as opposed to 1,700 last year," said Robert Chonko, director of admissions and enrollment management. "That's an initial sign these students will be back. That rate probably will be the highest in our history." Longwood expects to enroll about 2,823 full-time undergraduates this fall. About 720 will be freshmen and 197 will be transfer students. Âť Longwood expects to receive 4,000 applications - a 17.2 percent increase over last year - and probably will close freshman admissions June 1, several months earlier than usual. A waiting list will be used for subsequent applicants. Because of increased applications, Longwood has been more selective in the students it accepts, Chonko said. He also noted that Longwood's percentage increase in applications is "one of the highest of any I have seen reported by any public college or university in Virginia." This reflects a continuing trend at Longood, where each year for the past six years" the College has had the largest number of applicants in its history.