Norwich to celebrate tuition freedon day

Norwich University's Student Alumni Association is planning a Tuition Freedom Day, a day symbolically marking the end of your tuition coverage and the rest of the semester is paid for by alumni, according to the Assistant Director of Class Relations and Young Alumni.

"Not many people realize this, your tuition only covers a certain percentage of your Norwich experience," said Matthew Materio '06 & M'09, Assistant Director of Class Relations and Young Alumni at Norwich University.  "The actual cost of a Norwich education is roughly $55,000 annually.  Our donors are what bring the cost down roughly 30 percent to the $38,000 range."

Tuition Freedom Dayat Norwich will take place late next semester. The event overall goal is to educate every Norwich student that is on the receiving end of the generosity of alumni.

"Tuition Freedom Dayis important because the students need to be educated as to who their benefactors are.  The fact of the matter is that colleges and universities have to rely on more than just their income from tuition dollars," said Materio.  "That is where the generosity of our alumni and friends comes into play.  Alumni and Friends are the reason why we are a Tier 1 academic institution now."

The Tuition Freedom Day event is still in the planning stages, though planners do have some ideas on what it is going to include.

"For the day, we plan on having a ton of free activities for students that may include a dunk tank and the rock wall from the National Guard," said James Davis, 19, a sophomore chemistry major from Bayonne, N.J.

A lot of the events will be geared towards class competition, according to Jamie Hartjen, 19, a sophomore architecture major form Cobleskill, N.Y.

 "Another treat will be the carnival food in the mess hall!  We're putting out a great spread of steak bomb sandwiches, onion rings, pigs in a blanket and other finger foods, cotton candy and the list goes on and on. And it's all being paid for by our alumni," Materio said.

"There are plans in the works to have slips of paper where students can sign their name and the names will be put into card to be sent to the donors," Hartjen said.

The Tuition Freedom Day committee is working with many offices in the school to make this event, tentatively planned for April, a success.

"We still need to meet with the students on the Tuition Freedom Day Committee and the key players on staff to finalize all the details.  The only issue we're running into right now is finding the right facility to hold the event," Materio said.  "The floor in Plumley Armory is not suitable for an event of this nature.  The only buildings that will be acceptable are Shapiro Field House and Kreitzberg Arena."

Tuition Freedom Day is the latest school event being planned by the Student Alumni Association.

It is a new event for Norwich, but it is celebrated at other schools across the country.

"All across the country there are schools that celebrate tuition freedom day.  There are not any schools in Vermont that celebrate tuition freedom day," Hartjen said.  "It is just a good way for us to say thank you to the alumni because they provide us with some important help."

 "Our goal is to make tuition freedom day fun for all students civilian, corps, and commuter, so that they will enjoy the day and have fun, Hartjen said.