SPI 2021 EXPENDITURE CATEGORIES CATEGORY SPI Housing 43.6% Tuition 37.8% (Education) Groceries 5.4% Take-out 1.8% School 5.4% HOUSING 43.6%
it more digestible and less intimidating. I have been fortunate to have mentors such as Dr. Lee who have been able to guide this project during uncertain times (particularly when supply shocks were happening, and we didn't know how to approach incorporating that into the project). Throughout the process of working on the SPI, I have become confident in my ability to use excel for data analysis and explain the quantitative logic for our project. Young: SPI has provided me with 1:1 mentoring with the best faculty. Although there is a lot of information introduced with SPI, the mentors are there to help break down the complexities of our research. As the group continues to monitor and make adjustments to the SPI on a monthly basis, the interest in their results increases both on- and off-campus. They believe that there are a number of ways in which the data provided by the SPI could be used for the benefit of not only CWU students, but could also help inform policies at the university-level, and local, state, and national levels. McNair: The SPI reports could be used by the university to have a better understanding of the cost of living within Ellensburg for a student. This may help to adapt budget decisions within the university as well as help the university understand what kind of aid may be most beneficial to a student’s long-term success. Hashimura: I believe that the SPI can be a blueprint that other schools follow, eventually leading to the nationwide tracking of college cost of living and hopefully result in policies designed to alleviate college financial pressures (room and board standardizations, tuition changes etc.). The data from the SPI can also be used by college towns to better plan their economic activities to best meet the demands of the local population. Young: Our SPI findings have been available for the Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce to help make policy decisions. I believe that our results can be used in the legislative decision process in Washington state. It is important that those decision-makers are aware how price changes and rent caps can positively impact college students in college towns.
TUITION 37.8%
Supplies Gasoline
2.8% 1.6% 0.6% 1.0%
Fun
Coffee
Beer
TOTAL
100.0%
CPI-U 2021 EXPENDITURE CATEGORIES CATEGORY CPI Housing 33.5% Tuition 2.2% (Education) Groceries 7.6% Take-out 5.1% Gasoline 3.1% Fun 1.1% Beer 0.9% Other 46.5% TOTAL 100.0% HOUSING 33.5% UNIDENTIFIED OTHER 46.5%
Left to right: Sophia Apostolides, Caden McNair, economics professor Dr. Yurim Lee, Mia Young, and Landen Kaya Hashimura.
The SPI began as a student project idea and has grown into a valuable tool providing data that can support the improvement of the student experience at CWU and beyond. It has provided a hands-on experience for business students to learn about data collection and analysis, price index and inflation rate calculation, and several other real-world skills that they can apply as they continue their educational journey and when they enter the workforce.
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