CLASS DISMISSED: Rising tuition a manageable obstacle

By: Jasmyn Elliott / Columnist

I wholeheartedly support University President Mark B. Rosenberg’s lack of enthusiasm toward raising tuition to the national average over the course of three years. In fact, I am downright upset about this prospect.

I am one of the thousands of students who currently feel the strain of a reduction in student aid.

With federal aid on the decline and tuition on the rise, it seems as if the acquisition of a debt-free bachelor’s degree is highly unlikely, if not impossible.

Furthermore, many graduate students will now enter their master’s program’s already saddling sizeable debt, which will increase substantially by the time they receive their diploma and I am sure to be among them.

If Rep. William Proctor believes that the receiving of federal Pell Grants in addition to Bright Futures Scholarships is nothing more than a “Lexus award,” I imagine that he has yet to take a good look at our student parking lot.

For the vast majority of us, our disbursement refund does not go toward luxury cars or shopping sprees in high-end department stores.

For many of us, this refund is the only financial source we have for housing, gas, food, books and other bills. Even if we have a minimum wage job in addition to our aid, it is often just enough to cover our daily expenses.

Even so, tuition increases are a necessary evil, especially in the case of the University.

With plans to increase our student body and expand the campus with new facilities, our tuition must be raised in order to afford the increased operating costs incurred by this growth.

I imagine that other state universities are following suit with plans to expand and improve their campuses, therefore, as students, we are set to foot the bill.

On a brighter note, federal aid and Bright Futures Scholarships are not the Alpha and Omega of financial aid.

With a little research, we can still seek out additional scholarships from other organizations to help pay for our education.

In fact, it may become a necessity, provided that the aid-to-tuition ratio continues on this trend.

We may also have to change our spending habits by taking lunch instead of eating out, renting or buying used books, carpooling and other money-saving strategies.

As for the University, something tells me that Rosenberg may have a plan in place to help students.

Perhaps an aggressive grant-seeking plan is in the works so benefactors will donate funds to help finance the University’s expansion and generate new scholarship opportunities.

Whatever they decide to do, I’m sure that students will welcome the solution.

As scary as this may sound, we cannot panic. Yes, it will be more expensive to acquire a college education, and yes there will be an increase in student debt.

However, I have faith that with a few personal changes and with some new strategies on the part of the University, the rise in tuition will not be a complete crisis, but simply an obstacle that can-and will-be managed.

 “Class Dismissed” is a biweekly column critiquing education in America. Email jasmyn.elliott@fiusm.com.


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