It’s no big surprise that college tuition has increased over the last decade. In fact it has doubled. According to The College Board, the national average during the 2002-2003 school year was $4,081 for in-state students at a 4-year public university. Now the national average is $8,244. These increases become even more dramatic—and disheartening—when you consider that the average cost in 1972 was around $2,000. Increases that used to take 30 years have now happened within 10.
Over the past few years North Carolina has provided some protection for students from tuition spikes. UNC system schools have not been allowed to raise their tuition higher than 6.5% each year…until now. This week the NC Board of Governors has lifted the cap on tuition increases. In other words, schools can raise tuition as much as they want. Already UNC-Chapel Hill is discussing the possibility of a 44% increase to be spread across a few years. Current freshmen could essentially be paying 44% more for their education by the time they are seniors.
See Article...if you want to
While I don’t agree with this at all, and as a graduate student I will be affected, I know it’s not the fault of any individual university. The state of North Carolina has really tied universities’ hands behind their backs over the last few years with the dismal state budgets that they have pushed through. Last year’s anti-education budget cut $414 million dollars from the UNC system’s 17 public universities. That is 15.6% of the total budget. Total. (Please re-read those last two sentences and just let them sink in for a second). UNC Greensboro—where I am currently a student—has lost 84 million dollars over the past four years. Since North Carolina legislatures--especially the Republicans that built and passed the anti-education budget—no longer find it viable to financially support state universities, universities are forced to seek out other avenues, and tuition is one of the most obvious.
I’m nervous about what this means for current and prospective students of North Carolina public universities. I worry that once these increases are made they will never be undone, even after a period of economic recovery. I don’t know if these skyrocketing tuition costs will affect in-state enrollment significantly considering how critical a four year degree is in so many job markets. Even if students do attend community colleges for 2 years, many of them will eventually have to transfer, and advanced degrees can only be achieved at universities. Unless these tuition increases do cause a huge drop in enrollment, universities will realize how much people are willing to pay. Just like gas prices, the cost of public education will defy gravity.
I think the most frustrating part is that while I’m hearing about these budget cuts, I’m working within the public school system where new and expensive programs come down the pipes every single day. Within the same year the state cut 46% of our supplies budget, raised employees insurance premiums, cut 15% of the support staff and 19% of the administrative staff statewide, I also received a SmartBoard. (And yes, I am grateful for it and I use it every day. I also taught for 4 years with a StupidBoard and my students did fine. I would give up my SmartBoard to have a class of 25 children any day). We are going through extensive and expensive professional development to prepare us for a new curriculum, and the state has adopted a new teacher evaluation tool. North Carolina has also decided to require that all juniors take the ACT in addition to the SAT (to get into colleges they won’t be able to afford) which will cost the state $6 million dollars. All of this tells me that there is money; it’s just being allotted at state and county levels for stupid shit. The legislators of North Carolina are ignoring their constituents (Hey guys! Remember us?) and are budgeting their taxpayer dollars like a 15 year old girl at Forever21. The money is being spent on marginal programs and technology—that will be obsolete in a few years—while the basics (like class sizes) are being completely ignored. (It doesn’t matter how many SmartBoards your school has; if there are over thirty kids in a class, instruction will be less effective).
I just wish that we could make the same type of demands of our legislators that the legislators are making of us with these underfunded schools. If only we could force the legislators to be as creative and proactive with their budgeting practices as they are forcing their public university students to be.
Over the past few years North Carolina has provided some protection for students from tuition spikes. UNC system schools have not been allowed to raise their tuition higher than 6.5% each year…until now. This week the NC Board of Governors has lifted the cap on tuition increases. In other words, schools can raise tuition as much as they want. Already UNC-Chapel Hill is discussing the possibility of a 44% increase to be spread across a few years. Current freshmen could essentially be paying 44% more for their education by the time they are seniors.
See Article...if you want to
While I don’t agree with this at all, and as a graduate student I will be affected, I know it’s not the fault of any individual university. The state of North Carolina has really tied universities’ hands behind their backs over the last few years with the dismal state budgets that they have pushed through. Last year’s anti-education budget cut $414 million dollars from the UNC system’s 17 public universities. That is 15.6% of the total budget. Total. (Please re-read those last two sentences and just let them sink in for a second). UNC Greensboro—where I am currently a student—has lost 84 million dollars over the past four years. Since North Carolina legislatures--especially the Republicans that built and passed the anti-education budget—no longer find it viable to financially support state universities, universities are forced to seek out other avenues, and tuition is one of the most obvious.
I’m nervous about what this means for current and prospective students of North Carolina public universities. I worry that once these increases are made they will never be undone, even after a period of economic recovery. I don’t know if these skyrocketing tuition costs will affect in-state enrollment significantly considering how critical a four year degree is in so many job markets. Even if students do attend community colleges for 2 years, many of them will eventually have to transfer, and advanced degrees can only be achieved at universities. Unless these tuition increases do cause a huge drop in enrollment, universities will realize how much people are willing to pay. Just like gas prices, the cost of public education will defy gravity.
I think the most frustrating part is that while I’m hearing about these budget cuts, I’m working within the public school system where new and expensive programs come down the pipes every single day. Within the same year the state cut 46% of our supplies budget, raised employees insurance premiums, cut 15% of the support staff and 19% of the administrative staff statewide, I also received a SmartBoard. (And yes, I am grateful for it and I use it every day. I also taught for 4 years with a StupidBoard and my students did fine. I would give up my SmartBoard to have a class of 25 children any day). We are going through extensive and expensive professional development to prepare us for a new curriculum, and the state has adopted a new teacher evaluation tool. North Carolina has also decided to require that all juniors take the ACT in addition to the SAT (to get into colleges they won’t be able to afford) which will cost the state $6 million dollars. All of this tells me that there is money; it’s just being allotted at state and county levels for stupid shit. The legislators of North Carolina are ignoring their constituents (Hey guys! Remember us?) and are budgeting their taxpayer dollars like a 15 year old girl at Forever21. The money is being spent on marginal programs and technology—that will be obsolete in a few years—while the basics (like class sizes) are being completely ignored. (It doesn’t matter how many SmartBoards your school has; if there are over thirty kids in a class, instruction will be less effective).
I just wish that we could make the same type of demands of our legislators that the legislators are making of us with these underfunded schools. If only we could force the legislators to be as creative and proactive with their budgeting practices as they are forcing their public university students to be.
Comments
Post a Comment