Obama speaks on tuition costs in Ann Arbor

Jake Adams
Staff Reporter

Last Friday, three days after his State of the Union address, President Obama gave a speech at the University of Michigan on college affordability, addressing the problem of raising tuition costs year to year. “We are putting colleges on notice. You can’t assume that you’ll just jack up tuition every single year.

If you can’t stop tuition from going up, then the funding you get from taxpayers each year will go down,” Obama said to those who came to hear him speak at U of M’s Al Glick Fieldhouse. Obama has introduced a plan to combat rising tuition costs throughout the nation that would reward schools of higher education with federal funding if they are responsible in how they handle their tuition.

The reform would shift aid away from colleges that fail to keep net tuition down, toward those that do their fair share to keep it affordable, and provide good value throughout their institution in terms of how much bang students get for their very valuable buck.

Another program aimed at the cost of higher education by President Obama is his Race to the Top: College Affordability and Completion, which would reward states who are willing to drive systemic change in their higher education policies and practices. However, keeping administration and costs to operate a college aren’t one easy solution.

“The costs to manage and operate a university increase each year, similar to what individuals experience within their households. Utilities, health care costs, food costs associated with the dining halls, construction material, supplies and a myriad of other items needed to carry on the educational mission increase in cost,” said Janice VanDerKley, Western Michigan University Vice President for Business and Finance.

“State support and tuition are the two main sources of funding for higher education [and] higher education experienced a 15 percent reduction in state support in this year alone,” said VanDerKley. But with costs rising year to year, a higher education is becoming harder and harder to achieve. “Higher education can’t be a luxury. It is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford,” said Obama.

Chris Holt, a junior at WMU majoring in aviation maintenance technology, currently has $13,000 in loans. “I kind of think I’m getting my money’s worth. A degree is an investment, and it’s helping me dig deeper with my critical thinking skills,” said Holt. Destinee Almore, a WMU freshman majoring in nursing, disagrees. “They take money from us for everything. I just don’t feel like it should cost this much, especially with the way that the economy is,” said Almore. For students who are paying back the loans little by little, the amount of money that college costs is a harsh reality.

“Whenever I think about college, I think about loans,” said Kyra Tilmon, a Student Services representative at WMU’s Bronco Express.“I pay $300 a month.” Although the debate over tutition continues, the necessity of a college degree is not.
“In this economy, there is no greater predictor of individual success than a good education,” Obama said at the field house last Friday. “College is the single most important investment you can make in your future.”

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Posted by njstrehl on Feb 5 2012. Filed under Breaking, Campus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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