(Bri Nitzberg | Student Life)
The Student Union hosted a financial overview on March 28 in Tisch Commons detailing expenses and revenues, the university's future financial plans and how tuition funds will be used.
Approximately 20 people, mostly students, participated in the event, which was moderated by Vice President Anna Gonzalez. Featured panelists included Chief Financial Officer Amy Kweskin and Director of Student Financial Services Mike Runiewicz.
Hussein Amri, executive vice president of the Student Union, said the event was restarted four years after it was canceled in hopes of increasing financial transparency on campus.
“Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we have lost so many traditions,” Amri said. “But it was a goal of me and the leadership team to bring back the overview because tuition is something that affects us all.”
Mr. Kweskin began the event with an overview of the university's 2023 fiscal year. She said WashU's total spending totals $4.6 billion, with $3.5 billion allocated to the School of Medicine and $1.1 billion allocated to the Danforth campus.
She said a significant portion of the School of Medicine's spending is devoted to health care delivery. Kweskin also highlighted staff compensation costs, the largest category in WashU's budget at 61%, or $2.77 billion.
“That’s all the faculty teaching you and all the staff supporting you,” Kweskin said. “And the doctors at the hospital. These are the people who work at the university, and they make up the bulk of the cost.”
Kweskin later said that the majority of WashU's revenue comes from clinical care at $2.2 billion, followed by research funding at $853 million, endowment payments at $570 million, and tuition at $497 million. He said that. This left the university with a surplus of approximately $200 million.
Kweskin spoke about WashU's affordability compared to comparable universities. She introduced two tables showing that both WashU's tuition and tuition increases are lower than other peer universities.
“Last year’s increase was high, so we lowered it,” Kweskin said. “You can see we're still a little lower than below.” [our peers]”
She further stated that the typical cost to attend WashU is approximately $22,000, 25% of the published cost of attendance of $87,644.
Both Kweskin and Gonzalez emphasized the importance of: here and next, strategic planning and fundraising efforts for WashU's endowment. They said the larger endowment will help expand the university's research output and support its students.
When compared to peer universities, WashU's endowment is below the median. This conflict impacts the funding of need-based scholarships, as scholarships must be funded from other sources than endowments.
The presenters said that the size of the gift will ensure that all students will be financially supported with both scholarships and research, including through low-wage internships and bursaries for students pursuing apprenticeships. He said it would be.
Amri hopes to make the University Financial Overview an annual tradition again.
“Some administrators are very busy and it can be difficult to get all the information, but I think we have made breakthroughs,” Amri said. “Financial summaries meant a lot to people before the pandemic, and they mean just as much now.”
