Calif students try to get fee freeze on ballot

[bejazd]

There's an interesting article on student fees and a petition drive in the San Diego Union Tribune from yesterday- Feb 10. I can't link the article but you can go to signonsandiego.com to view it under Education.

Wow- fees at UC in 1979-80 were $736, in 2000-2001 they were $3964 and this year: $7511.

For the Calif State University system they were $210 in 79-80, $1839 in 2000-01, and $3521 this year.

That's in state registration, not including other fees, books or housing.

Not sure yet how I feel about the tax on millionaires that is proposed to fund the fee freeze but I'm glad to see the students trying to bring the issue to the ballot!

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by bejazd

There's an interesting article on student fees and a petition drive in the San Diego Union Tribune from yesterday- Feb 10. I can't link the article but you can go to signonsandiego.com to view it under Education.

Wow- fees at UC in 1979-80 were $736, in 2000-2001 they were $3964 and this year: $7511.

For the Calif State University system they were $210 in 79-80, $1839 in 2000-01, and $3521 this year.

That's in state registration, not including other fees, books or housing.

I mean . . . this seems like a lot of money, but it's really about a 9% increase per year. Considering inflation and the massive amount of new services provided by colleges in 2008 compared with 1979, I'm not really sure 9% per year is unreasonable - and why did we decide now is the time to freeze?

I think the raw numbers are somewhat misleading here.

[Kevlar281]

When you say fees does that include tuition?

[bejazd]

They say "fees" in the article. As I remember it, they don't use the term "tuition" for in state students, it's called registration fees. The thinking is something like in state students don't pay tuition at a public university funded by the taxpayers. There's usually other fees i.e. assessments for student centers etc. that vary from campus to campus.

just a point of info, community colleges charge about $15-19 per unit in Calif.

after reading that article, the pragmatic parent in me had to wonder about a 19 yr old majoring in "cultural studies" completely on student loans.

[shinerbock]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

I mean . . . this seems like a lot of money, but it's really about a 9% increase per year. Considering inflation and the massive amount of new services provided by colleges in 2008 compared with 1979, I'm not really sure 9% per year is unreasonable - and why did we decide now is the time to freeze?

I think the raw numbers are somewhat misleading here.

Yeah, though I do believe there is an epidemic among schools of charging incredibly high fees and not delivering on promises. I think private grad schools are especially guilty of this. Not so sure about public undergraduate institutions.

[SoCalGirl]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

I mean . . . this seems like a lot of money, but it's really about a 9% increase per year. Considering inflation and the massive amount of new services provided by colleges in 2008 compared with 1979, I'm not really sure 9% per year is unreasonable - and why did we decide now is the time to freeze?

I think the raw numbers are somewhat misleading here.

"massive amount of new services"? **Rolls with laughter**

Try massive cuts of budgets and services as the fees continue to grow.

I'm so glad to be done with school because the increases would make me really mad.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by SoCalGirl

"massive amount of new services"? **Rolls with laughter**

Try massive cuts of budgets and services as the fees continue to grow.

I'm so glad to be done with school because the increases would make me really mad.

You really think a college doesn't have many more "responsibilities" today than it did in 1979?

I mean . . . we forget that a lot of the ineptitude in college administration is due to stretching too thin and becoming involved in too many parts of student life.

Where was the IT department (complete with campus-wide email and LAN services) in 1979, or the rape crisis center(s), or the "blue light phones" or suicide hotline or food service until midnight or subsidizing of a huge portion of the student body via work-study or . . . I don't want to curtail your laughter, but students simply expect more in 2008, don't you think?

This is without even considering that the modern college landscape requires massive departments for marketing the school (including everything from advertising to endowment percentage toward marketable patents, discoveries or research) - a development that the students are asked to fund, but which partially offsets itself in the form of increased perceived value of the diploma/prestige, etc.

It's kind of stark, but that's reality.

[SoCalGirl]

It's nearly doubled in 8 years. The services in that time have not.