Spring Break
Tuition options present one clear choice for next year
Cindy Luo
Issue date: 3/2/09 Section: Commentary
In today's difficult times, when the economy is volatile and the job market unstable, UConn is faced with an important decision. As a public school, one of its most attractive features is a great education at a low cost - so what should UConn do when more funds are necessary? The Board of Trustees has proposed four different possibilities of modifying tuition to ensure that the university has enough money to operate on an optimal level for the 2009-2010 academic year.
Option A is no tuition increase. The result would be about 300 layoffs, the closings of many programs and a decrease in services. This would lead to far fewer operating hours for facilities like the library, Student Recreation Facility, Student Union and dining halls - not to mention many job losses at these locations.
Class sizes would increase while selection would decrease, and more classes would be offered on Fridays and weekends.
Financial aid would decrease and ticket prices for events would have to increase.
This option is too extreme, and if the university has to operate on such limited grounds, nobody really benefits. Even if tuition rates stay the same, this is detrimental for students who lose financial aid. Work-study would virtually disappear. Students would not get the value for the tuition they pay if their experience is not what it should be.
Then there is option B: a tuition increase similar to the standard amount set over the past few years. This would be 6 percent, about $432 for the year for in-state students. There would still be cuts, the consequence would be about 150-170 layoffs.
Although there would be fewer losses than option A, similar results would exist. There would still be larger classes, fewer options and classes at less convenient times. Additionally, students would still suffer from work-study and financial aid loss.
This option is not much better than the first. A tuition increase that barely lessens the negative consequences and provides no actual benefits is not helpful for the school either.
Option A is no tuition increase. The result would be about 300 layoffs, the closings of many programs and a decrease in services. This would lead to far fewer operating hours for facilities like the library, Student Recreation Facility, Student Union and dining halls - not to mention many job losses at these locations.
Class sizes would increase while selection would decrease, and more classes would be offered on Fridays and weekends.
Financial aid would decrease and ticket prices for events would have to increase.
This option is too extreme, and if the university has to operate on such limited grounds, nobody really benefits. Even if tuition rates stay the same, this is detrimental for students who lose financial aid. Work-study would virtually disappear. Students would not get the value for the tuition they pay if their experience is not what it should be.
Then there is option B: a tuition increase similar to the standard amount set over the past few years. This would be 6 percent, about $432 for the year for in-state students. There would still be cuts, the consequence would be about 150-170 layoffs.
Although there would be fewer losses than option A, similar results would exist. There would still be larger classes, fewer options and classes at less convenient times. Additionally, students would still suffer from work-study and financial aid loss.
This option is not much better than the first. A tuition increase that barely lessens the negative consequences and provides no actual benefits is not helpful for the school either.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
alert
posted 3/02/09 @ 4:18 PM EST
Just want to point something out here, quoting from an e-mail that was sent by another author without citing it or even acknowledging it is plagiarism. (Continued…)
Monique Davis
posted 3/03/09 @ 10:09 AM EST
After reading this article I feel as though I must advocate for out of state students. The tuition increases cited are for in-state tuition; however, when applied to out-of-state (not even New England Region) rates, the increases are significantly higher. (Continued…)
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