Proposed tuition increase is not in students’ best interest

The UConn administrators will be discussing plans to raise tuition, again, today at 4 p.m. in the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center. Not only is another tuition increase unacceptable, but it points out a bigger problem facing this university and many others around the state – a severe lack of prioritization of resources in the higher education system.

UConn officials will hold a town hall-style meeting to discuss their proposal to raise tuition, room and board costs for  fiscal years 2011 and 2012. The chief financial officer’s office has produced a draft document that outlines the possible tuition increase scenarios.
The proposed tuition increases would range from 6.6 percent to 10 percent raises for this year, and an additional 7 to 13 percent for next year. These numbers are not just for tuition; expect to see identical numbers across the board for housing and meal plans.  These changes will cost the typical UConn student roughly $2,000 per year more than they are presently paying.

To cite a more specific example of how the UConn administration does not have education as a top priority, President Hogan chose to send an assistant to tonight’s tuition town hall meeting.

This may be in part because of President Hogan’s disgraceful display at last year’s tuition forum. For those of you who were not present, Hogan came to the last tuition forum wearing Mardi Gras beads and looking like he just rolled out of Bourbon Street. Hogan gave a five-minute pep talk about how sorry he was for having to raise tuition, but said there was nothing he could do about it. He then promptly walked off stage and headed to the basketball game, which seemed more important to the future of the university he is supposed to be leading.

How can our president make decisions with the student interest in mind if he continuously chooses to disrespect the opinion of the undergraduate student body? I think we all deserve much more from our president than cardboard cut outs and spring weekend photos.

I understand that there is not an infinite supply of money available. But it becomes very difficult to accept an increase in tuition without some concrete examples of where the money is going. Another increase in tuition would put UConn at a 50 percent increase over the last 10 years. Can you imagine if our income tax or property taxes grew at a rate three times that of inflation every year?

This continued attempt to have undergraduates subsidize the careers of wealthy administrators is unsustainable. We are seeing classes cut yet costs are skyrocketing. So far I’ve seen more big screen TVs put up than we have W courses. Our dining halls are closing on weekends and the cultural centers can’t pay to bring in new and exciting speakers.

Yet for this decline in product quality, you expect us to pay an additional 7 percent? With our budget at more than one billion dollars, someone is certainly making a lot of money; it just doesn’t happen to be anyone the university is supposed to serve. 

Our administrators have a particular plan to raise our ranking in the College Board top 20 public universities at any cost. The first wave is to raise tuition and cut jobs. We must realize that students and faculty are on the same side of this issue and refuse to allow arbitrary plans to divide us. As students, faculty and staff begin to realize their mutual interest in this struggle. We must demand the university raise tuition no more than inflation and cut jobs from the top of the administration chain, instead of the workers at the bottom.

We must also unite on a statewide level to pressure Gov. M. Jodi Rell to put her money where her mouth is and appropriate the funds necessary to properly run what used to be a source of pride in this state, the Connecticut educational system. It is going to take a united sustained effort to get us off this trajectory, but as the late historian Howard Zinn said, “You can’t be neutral on a moving train.”

 

2 comments

Unsatisfied Customer

Mon Feb 8 2010 22:48

I attended the meeting tonight at the Dodd Center, and was even more infuriated leaving the building than I had been in the hours leading up to it. The manner with which the administration chooses to disclose and discuss the "options" for tuition increases is clearly not aimed at having a dialogue with students about the cost of their higher education. As an undergraduate, committing myself to student loans during a time of historic, severe unemployment rates, I am worried. I attended a meeting that was advertised (poorly, I might add) as an opportunity for students, staff and faculty to discuss options and alternatives to raising tuition. Witnessing some of the highest-paid university officials dodge questions and counter legitimate concerns with "email me" and "I'll have to get back to you on that" became a source of magnified concern and utter disgust.

It seems that the administration of this university has forgotten whom they work for. Even sadder, it seems that students themselves have lost touch with the fact that we are all paying customers in a malfunctioning, inflated business. Where is this disconnect coming from? Do we really prefer additional high definition television sets, placed in strategically useless locations, over improved access to classes, time with professors, and resources from our cultural centers? I know UConn is filled with apathetic hipster kids, but are we really that detached from our place in this university? Where is our self-representation? Why are we just accepting this?

It's enough of an outrage to see the people we pay to run the university spit out numbers as if students are made of money. What's worse is that few students seem to care, that is, few take the opportunity to remind the administration where we play into all of this. After all, a university cannot exist without its students. Imagine a day at UConn when no one shows up. No students in the classrooms, no employees in the dining halls, no buses moving the masses. Let's remind ourselves, and our administration, WE keep this school running. Our presence as students is what gives the University of Connecticut its prestige, and its funding. The ball isn't only in our court; the ball and the court belong to us. Let's own them.

Katlin Tyrol

Mon Feb 8 2010 22:26

It is understandable that in a time of recession there are certain measures we must take to maintain UConn as we know it. However, putting the burden on students to make up the deficit is ridiculous. Higher education is neglected more and more every year. Its time we came together and demanded the funds we've been promised not only for ourselves but for the students of future generations. Moreover, as prices increase it becomes harder and harder for the underprivileged to gain access to our community, regardless of financial aid. Diversity is supposed to be one of UConn's top priorities.

We need to take a stand against tuition increases. Whether the state decides to give us the money we deserve there are other viable ways to go about this deficit. Maybe turning off the lights in all the classroom buildings at night or having upper level administration take a pay cut. It is up to us as the UConn community to come up with these alternatives or its our wallets (or our parents) that will be affected.

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