On Oct. 25, the Office of the Chancellor sent out an email stating, “Yesterday, the Board of Trustees approved a modest tuition increase. Beginning in the fall quarter of the 2020-2021 academic year, the board approved a 2.4 percent tuition increase.”
According to Chancellor Jeremy Haefner, this tuition increase is the lowest percentage increase in 40 years and is influenced by market forces and “the need to plan for a sustainable future for the University.” The email did not give details on what a “substantial future” looks like in relation to DU.
What does this tuition increase mean to DU students?
Room and board costs will increase by 3.5 percent. This will raise financial anxiety for students already struggling to pay DU’s high tuition rates. The typical amount of credits students take per quarter is 16 credits, a course load priced at $16,464. This does not include other fees such as technology ($4 per credit), undergraduate activities (RTD College Pass, $145 per quarter), and health and services ($200 per quarter). With all these extra costs, plus room, board and textbooks, the average cost to attend DU is about $65,376 a year before aid and depending on specific programs.
Many students are in need of financial aid and cannot afford higher tuition rates. To acknowledge this, the chancellor said, “We will continue to look for additional ways to increase the amount of financial aid we can offer in order to better manage the cost of a DU education.” The email also mentioned intentions of tying academic programs more directly to variations in the market performance and offering students a source of funding through grants and scholarships.
But how do DU students feel about the tuition increase?
Isabella Cardenas, a current freshman undergraduate, said, “It makes me feel awful because it means more money, that I don’t have, I’m going to have to end up having to give up. And for the next class, I have friends who are really considering DU. But I know that, forever and always, they will be worried about tuition costs and I know that they’re going to struggle to pay no matter the amount of scholarships they have.”
This tuition increase will impact current DU students greatly and cause them financial stress, but more importantly, it could prevent prospective students from seeking higher education.
Cardenas also emphasized the pressure many students are already in to meet scholarship requirements and keep grades up so that their funding isn’t taken away. The pressure of these tuition costs can be overwhelming with their education on the line.
“The tuition increase honestly makes me more stressed about next year…it makes me think of the bigger financial burdens for my future and all the stories about student loan debt. It drives up my anxiety because it makes me wonder if getting an education is worth all that debt in the future,” said Rosey Rosas, a current freshman undergrad.
Students will have to take out more loans to help pay tuition. According to the Federal Reserve, “Americans owed over $1.5 trillion in student loans in the fourth quarter of 2018.” Student debt has become an epidemic in America, and tuition increases are not helping to resolve the issue.
At this rate, DU might end up costing more to attend than Harvard (a school with an average cost of $78,200). To have an Ivy League school cost less than DU is very unjustifiable. Harvard is widely recognized as prestigious, so it makes more sense for the school to cost so much to attend. They hire the best professors in the country and invest in the education of their students, while the same cannot be said of DU.
With all of the new renovations to the buildings around campus, it isn’t hard to wonder where the students’ tuition money is going. But this construction is not worth the increases because buildings can only do so much to further the success of students.
Instead, the money should be going towards programs that directly benefit students. Small things like free parking could help make sure students arrive to class on time and don’t have to panic as they look for a parking spot that won’t give them a ticket. Or, the money could be invested in making textbooks more affordable for students and taking some of their financial stress off.
We don’t want to pay more when our money isn’t being invested in our futures.
