On March 23, Chancellor Chopp sent out a letter addressing the 4.9 percent increase in tuition for the 2016-2017 academic year. DU students’ and parents’ reactions are mainly those of frustration. While reasons for this increase are justifiable, if DU feels the need to hike up tuition, they need to be more upfront about its uses to those that bear the financial burden, as well as allow for tuition payers’ input.
It seems the gap between students and those in charge of these decisions needs to be bridged in order for these types of actions to at least be understood. According to administration, these price increases are important in cultivating our education and measures have been taken to create cost efficiency.
“To provide a comprehensive residential education is an extraordinarily expensive proposition for a university,” said provost and executive vice chancellor Dr. Kvistad. “That is not to say that we are not mindful of the burden this places on families. The letter outlines where the money is going and how we are trying to reduce costs,” said Kvistad.
Students will be happy to find that a large portion of the newly acquired funds is going towards financial aid. Approximately $21 million will be added to the university budget, with $13.3 million going towards financial aid. Kvistad outlined the sectors of the financial breakdown as financial aid, fundraising, new faculty hires, faculty/staff salary and adding programs to student life.
Kvistad explains that the cost of higher education has “become a much more complex environment that causes colleges and universities across the country to spend a lot of their resources on not just the classroom, but resident halls, programs and on and off campus activities.”
It is understandable that due to inflation, as well as the want to expand and improve the university, there will be fluctuations in tuition. However, there are better ways to do this. For example, Suffolk University is a private university similar to DU. In order to combat the financial burden placed on students and parents attending a private university, they use the concept of “grandfathered tuition”, which allow students to pay the same price of tuition they were told when they first started at the institution as long as they maintain a certain GPA.
Alternatively, allowing students and parents to have a say on tuition raises would be a more inclusive way of addressing tuition. At least, we should have easy access to the knowledge of what exactly is going on.
“I’d like to see an organized breakdown of my tuition,” said Rachel Ledon, a freshman from the Vail area in Colorado. “I am working very hard to be able to afford this already highly priced education. I am doing it because I believe in it and I believe in this school. So please, show me why I am working so hard, where my work is going and how it will benefit me as a student,” said Ledon.
It makes sense that over the years, prices will increase, and in context, the price of higher education is sky-high and increasing across the country. While it is understandable that DU must raise the price of tuition, the administration needs to be more transparent in how they rationalize this, in better communication with students and actively trying to alleviate this increasing financial burden.
