Campus progress.

• Author: Lerman, Steven
• Position: LETTERS - Letter to the editor

As a new member of the leadership of the George Washington University, I believe that the depiction in "The Prestige Racket" (September/October 2010) fails to capture GW's transformation in recent years. Our goal in all our endeavors is to raise the quality of the education we offer. Doing this has naturally involved investments in facilities. Contrary to statements in the article, these investments have been focused on making the university truly world-class. We have made major advances in our faculty hiring, selectivity in undergraduate admissions, development of rigorous graduate programs, and the creation of a robust residential community of scholars and students. We recently identified savings that enabled us to significantly increase the number of undergraduate advisers, create new faculty positions, and support other academic priorities.

We have also focused aggressively for the last three years on affordability. Roughly 60 percent of GW undergraduates receive financial aid. Undergraduate aid has increased 47 percent in the last five years and graduate aid 20 percent. In addition, GW's tuition increases for undergraduates in the last three years have been among the lowest in the nation, with costs rising each year for new students less than 3 percent. GW also fixes tuition at the same level for up to five years of undergraduate study, thereby insulating students and parents from any increases in tuition costs.

Steven Lerman

Provost and Executive Vice...