On Feb. 1, Public Relations sent an email to every current undergraduate student, informing them of a tuition increase that had been passed by the Board of Trustees. Boasting a title of “record low,” the 1.1 percent increase will raise current tuition by $428 for the 2012-2013 school year.

The press release cited the difficulties students and families are facing in affording a college education, and how they are striving to keep costs low for the future.

Junior Allen Kowal expressed his appreciation in the matter.

“I’m happy it’s only increased by 1.1percent,” Kowal said. “However, even though it’s the lowest percentage [increase], it started with a high number to begin with.”

Some students are worried Ashland is focusing too much on incoming students and neglecting their current students. Freshman Byron Reyna-Corzo and senior Tony Myer are just two of the students concerned with the university’s goals.

“The retention rate for AU is horrible and if Ashland truly believes in ‘Accent on the Individual,’ they would focus more on the individuals that already are students of their beloved university rather than students who are considering [attending] Ashland,” Myer said.

“If they plan on retaining their students, they’re going to need a lot more record lows,” Reyna-Corzo said.

While this email acknowledges the “lowest percentage increase since records were kept at the University,” it also shared with the students the simple fact there would be a raise in next year’s tuition. In previous years, the school has neglected to send out a press release directly to the students.

Sophomore Hilary Neal and junior Grace Bowers are a few who appreciate the university’s forthcomings, to some degree.

“I think it is good that the university told us that we would be paying more than an arm and leg next year,” Neal said. “It gives me somewhat of an opportunity to figure out how much money I’m not going to have next year.”

Bowers agreed: “The fact that they spent the time to get [the increase] this low, and believe it or not they did and it is a long process, is something we should appreciate at a private university.”

Ashland’s public relations department certainly made the right decision in telling the students what the plans were for next year, keeping nothing a secret. Despite their best efforts, however, more money is still more money.

“I can see how the administration would like it to be known that they pushed for a ‘record low’ tuition increase. The fact is they pushed for an increase. That is what angers students on this campus,” Neal said. “We are already paying a ridiculously high tuition. So, ‘record low’ is just a nice way of saying ‘you’re still paying more.'”