Raising the stakes – Increasing the tuition rate for students is a catch-22 for the university

Anumber of college students struggle to pay for   higher education.

Some students work part or full-time jobs to pay their tuition and support themselves throughout the course of the school year. Other students depend on loans and grants, which can lead to debt that can follow them long after they graduate.

Paying for school is even difficult for students whose parents help them out financially, as increasing tuition rates place financial strain upon their parents as well.

The real problem is that when it comes to increasing tuition costs, many institutions find that the situation is much more difficult.

Without money, the university cannot provide the services students pay for. However, by seeking money through greater tuition increases, many students can”t afford their education.

The University of Idaho estimates it costs full-time in-state undergraduate students $20,400 to attend UI, when room and board and expenses are factored in.

Broken up into roughly nine months of a regular academic year, that”s $2,266 per month, which jumps to $3,826 for out-of-state students. Looking at tuition alone – set at $7,020 this year – that”s $780 a month.

When talking about raising tuition, it”s important to look at it from a student perspective.

The university approved a 3 percent increase in tuition for the upcoming academic year. A 3 percent increase, proposed by UI President Chuck Staben, means each student will pay $212 more per semester next year. While this may not seem like much, the amount adds up to a pretty penny.

For students living in low-rent apartments with several roommates, $212 could be most of a month”s rent.

Yet, Staben wanted the State Board of Education (SBOE) Wednesday to consider a 4.5 percent increase in undergraduate in-state tuition, which would mean $1.7 million more than what was ultimately approved.

The university needs more money and students. The 3 percent increase, which was mandated to support personnel, makes sense.

The extra 1.5 percent of funding Staben hoped for would have been beneficial for the university, but detrimental for some students.

UI needs to take further action to encourage students to come to UI and support the students already here, despite rising costs.

The SBOE should continue to look into the tuition lock proposal, which would guarantee students the same tuition rate through their four years. UI should continue to cultivate potential scholarship donors to offset rising tuition rates.

Money is important, but increasing tuition rates more than necessary in order to gain extra money will likely be counterproductive to other university goals, such as increasing enrollment.

– KH

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