Editorials

UC fee increase spurs reaction

Minnesota should buck national trends and keep tuition low.

Published: 11/23/2009

Editorial Board

The University of California system’s Board of Regents has recently raised fees (equivalent to tuition) $2,500, or 32 percent, over the next two years. Plenty of other institutions are also spiking tuition well beyond inflation increments, among them Michigan State University and the University of North Carolina. The University of Minnesota has seen its share of tuition increases as well, but in this environment of rising costs for higher education, our University has an opportunity.

California’s hike is sure to price many students out, as are other increases around the country. UCLA and UC-Berkeley’s costs of attendance for out-of-state students are now twice as high as Minnesota’s. If the University keeps tuition low, it can attract students that would attend other out-of-state universities but now can’t afford them. This would improve incoming classes, and additional out-of-state students would pay a greater amount in tuition to the University.

Among the many problems with fee hikes at other universities is a loss of diversity in the student body; lagging and insufficient aid coupled with exploding tuition costs exclude lower-income students. It is integral to our University’s mission as a public land-grant institution that we continue to foster diversity in every form and provide opportunity along with equity.

Meanwhile, UCLA students have turned out for demonstrations in the thousands, and three other campuses have had students occupy buildings in protest. When University of Minnesota administrators are faced with next year’s budget shortfalls, they would do well to remember that tuition — and those who pay it — can only be pushed so far as a source of revenue.

5 Comments

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Keep Tuition Low?

Submitted by wbgleason on Tue, 11/24/2009 - 1:14pm.

Our tuition/fees are roughly $2000 more per year than tOSU, Indiana, Purdue and Wisconsin and $4000 more than Iowa.

Source: http://apa.wisc.edu/images/tables/BigTentuition.pdf

tOSU has not had a tuition increase in the last three years, no layoffs, and staff will see a 2.5% increase in pay. So there is obviously an alternative to the high tuition quasi-public model espoused by the Morrill Hall crowd.

There is a great discussion in the NYT about the California situation.

Ref:

http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/haves-vs-have-nots-at-...

Therein an economist at Ohio University writes:

________________________________

What Taxpayers Deserve to Know
Richard Vedder

Richard Vedder is an economist at Ohio University.

Since most of the financial benefits of college go to the student, he or she should pay a large portion of college costs. Even with the large tuition increase, University of California fees are well below those of many other prestigious flagship public universities.

Most attendees come from moderately to very prosperous families that can shoulder this extra burden. Lower income students are largely protected by U.C. financial aid policies and by an increasingly generous federal student assistance program.

However, all students and their parents, not to mention taxpayers, have a right to know why the vast majority of the U.C. budget goes for non-instructional expenses, why teaching loads are so low, and why there is a bloated central administrative bureaucracy. If they want the students to pay more, the University of California administration should be more fully accountable to those who are increasingly paying the bills.

_____________________________

Sound familiar to anyone around here? Bob? Tom?

Big Shock - Look who's in charge

Submitted by horde52 on Wed, 11/25/2009 - 11:04am.

Mark Yudof is chancellor of the University of California system. He led the push for ~32% increase in their fees (UC’s equivalent to our tuition). Mr. Yudof is the former president of the University of Minnesota. At a minimum, during his last three years as president at the U of M, he increased the tuition by double digits! In the span of those last few years, he increased the tuition by near 40% ! Big surprise California, when you put Mr. Yudof in charge, there should be no surprise that their cost to go to UC increased. I'm guessing more will come for you.

"OSU has not had a tuition

Submitted by NOSPAM on Thu, 11/26/2009 - 7:08pm.

"OSU has not had a tuition increase in the last three years, no layoffs, and staff will see a 2.5% increase in pay. So there is obviously an alternative to the high tuition quasi-public model espoused by the Morrill Hall crowd."

Yes, it is called increase taxpayer support. And quite frankly, I am tired of having my pocket picked.

Don't come with your hand out until you do the following:

1) Increase the amount of classes and instructional time that a all Professor levels must carry
2) Reduce non-instructional expenses by 20%
3) Cut admin staff by 15%