Tutition Regulation

[MannyIsGod]

Last semester it was the election, this semster's big issue promises to be the regulation of tuition.

In the previous discussions here many people took the stance that students don't have a right to grants and shouldn't bitch about not getting them because they are owed nothing. They should simply get loans to fund their education as many people did.

What needs to be understood however, is that tuition increases after deregulation have far outpaced the growth of not only grants, but student loan amounts.

In essence, it was much easier to fund an education 10, 15, 20 years ago with student loans due to the disproportional increases in tuition.

[MannyIsGod]

Updated January 16, 2005 0:33 AM

Legislative caps on tuition may be revisited

Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series examining higher education issues facing the Texas Legislature.

By BRETT NAUMAN
Eagle Staff Writer

Although public school finance reform is expected to dominate this legislative session, some lawmakers expect a serious debate in higher education about rising tuition costs at public universities.

Lawmakers deregulated tuition during the 2003 session, removing legislative caps and giving public universities the power to set their own rates. The result has been dramatic tuition hikes at Texas A&M and other state-supported universities, state Rep. Fred Brown said.

University officials will have to explain those increases to lawmakers during the session and account for how they now are using the additional money, said Brown, R-College Station.

Modifying the state’s top 10 percent automatic admission law and discussion about the number of years it takes for students to graduate also are major issues to be addressed, according to the House Research Organization.

The bipartisan group of House staffers has polled lawmakers, agency directors and special interest groups during recent months and published a report on the topics likely to be addressed during the session.

Texas A&M University has increased one of its two forms of tuition by $32 to $74.50 per semester credit hour — a 75 percent hike — in the two years since tuition was deregulated.

But A&M has shown “restraint” compared to the state’s other flagship university, said Stanton Calvert, the A&M System’s vice chancellor for governmental relations. The University of Texas has increased tuition by $46 to $94 per semester credit hour over the past two years, a 96 percent hike, Calvert said.

A&M President Robert Gates said the tuition increases at A&M were needed to make up for state cuts of $3 million made during the last session and to fund other rising expenses, such as employee salaries and health-care costs.

Gates said a tuition increase may be needed again this year. The amount will be tied directly to how much state funding A&M receives during the current session, Calvert said.

“That’s going to be our message to legislators,” Calvert said. “We’re going to depend on you to provide funding to A&M, and then we’re going to make up the difference by raising tuition.”

While Brown and state Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, said the tuition hikes at public universities concern them, they do not believe deregulation will be overturned during the session.

But one member of the House says he wants to do just that. Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, said he will file a bill to end tuition deregulation during the session.

Tuition rates need to be set by the Legislature, Coleman said. Otherwise, boards of regents will approve increase after increase with no one to hold them accountable, he contended.

The Legislature has, in essence, condoned the hikes at universities across the state by not providing adequate funding for higher education during the last session, Coleman said.

“It’s a slick deal,” he said of tuition deregulation. “It’s a tax shift to the students. If you take $350 million away from higher education, it has to be made up somewhere, and it’s being made up with tuition.”

Ogden, who is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said he did not anticipate such high tuition increases when he voted to give universities the authority to raise rates during the 2003 session.

Lawmakers have reached a “philosophical crossroads” when it comes to funding higher education and now must determine who should be responsible for paying for increases, Ogden said.

“The issue from a philosophical standpoint is that the primary beneficiary of a college education is the person who receives it,” he said. “So what’s the taxpayers’ obligation to make sure the person who’s benefiting gets an education for next to nothing or free? What we’re evolving to is a system where the universities set the market rate.”

Getting universities to encourage students to graduate within four years will be the major issue Brown said he wants to examine and question campus officials about during the session.

The Legislature provides universities with about $7,800 in state funding per student each year, Brown said. Students who take five or six years to graduate are driving up education costs, he said.

“If we have 50,000 students we could graduate a year earlier, it’s $300 million in one year’s time we could save,” Brown said. “Now we’re talking about real money.”

A&M has the highest four-year graduation rate among the state’s largest universities, Brown said. But every university needs to work on getting students through the system quicker, he said.

About 35 percent of A&M students graduate within four years, Gates said. About 69 percent graduate within five years and 75 percent earn a degree within six years.

Compared to some larger universities in the nation, Texas universities lag in their four-year graduation rates, Gates said, agreeing with Brown that there is a problem to be addressed.

“That’s one thing we’re going to be working on,” Gates said. “We move our students to a degree slower. The bottom line is Fred has put his finger on an important issue.”

Gate said the way he looks at the issue is that a student who graduates in five years instead of four misses out on roughly $65,000 when adding costs of school and the average $37,000 a graduate would have made if employed during the fifth year.

Brown said universities need to offer such incentives as tuition and loan rebates for students who graduate on time. And A&M, specifically, needs to start offering more classes over the Internet, Brown said.

Students also should be encouraged to take classes during the summer, he said. He plans on filing a bill to establish a program at A&M in 2006 that would slash summer tuition costs in half.

“Our facilities don’t go away, and our professors don’t go away during the summer,” Brown said. “It costs the same to air condition a building whether there’s students in it or not.”

Lawmakers also will discuss changing the law that allows those in the top 10 percent of their high school class to be admitted automatically into the college of their choice, according to a House Research Organization report.

A possible change would be to give students automatic admission to a university system rather than a university, giving competitive universities like A&M and UT more freedom in choosing their classes.

The report also said restoring cuts to financial aid and grant programs will be discussed during the session.

[GoldToe]

If you can't hack it...SAC it.

[MannyIsGod]

http://www.utwatch.org/tuition/


But aren't these increases in line with inflation?

No. In the second graph of our study on UT tuition, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the standard measure for inflation, is factored into the tuition and fee increases since 1970. The graph demonstrates that even after adjusting for inflation, education at the University has become more expensive each year. The fourth graph shows the astounding increase in the overall amount the University has received from tuition and fees, taking inflation into account.

[MannyIsGod]

If you can't hack it...SAC it.

They're not immune from tuition increases either, and they don't offer a degree above an associates.

[GoldToe]

I do agree that the costs of college education have sky rocketed but that is okay because it keeps the lower class out of class.

[dcole50]

I do agree that the costs of college education have sky rocketed but that is okay because it keeps the lower class out of class.
i don't really know you, so i'll assume that was sarcastic. if not ..

[MannyIsGod]

I do agree that the costs of college education have sky rocketed but that is okay because it keeps the lower class out of class.

Hey, if it works for the politicians in Austin, why not for Gold Toe?

[jalbre6]

The University of Texas has increased tuition by $46 to $94 per semester credit hour over the past two years, a 96 percent hike, Calvert said.

Holy shit. I remember when it went up to $30 in the mid-to-late 90's and the Daily Texan and the American-Statesman threw shitfits. It didn't help.

I feel for you college folks. I bitch every time I make a student loan payment. Right now, someone that is just starting school and financing it through loans is going to wind up paying twice as much as I do.

Out of curiosity, I looked up Metro State in Denver, the school I graduated from and remember paying $35 a semester hour once I finally qualified as a resident. It's up to $85.

[jalbre6]

University officials will have to explain those increases to lawmakers during the session and account for how they now are using the additional money

Texas A&M:
http://mirrorimageorigin.collegepublisher.com:80/media/paper657/stills/dbgp55e7.jpg
Texas A&M men´s basketball head coach Billy Gillispie is taking over as Aggie coach after two seasons as head coach at the University of Texas-El Paso.
http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/big12/galleries/big12-mediaday-072204/franchione-d-tamu-lg.jpg
Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione will get a contract extension and a raise after leading the Aggies to the Cotton Bowl in his second season. Athletic director Bill Byrne said Saturday that Franchione's contract, currently worth $1.7 million annually through 2010, was being restructured. He didn't release the details.

Texas:
http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/images/2001_02/main_images/mackphotos/mackbrown_greet.jpg
The University of Texas and head football coach Mack Brown agreed on a 10-year contract extension worth a reported $25 million.

[spurster]

1. The State of Texas has been decreasing its proportion of public higher education costs over many years.

2. Colleges (dedicated to undergraduates) want to be universities (dedicated to graduate students and research, which is much more expensive).

3. You pay more!

[mysterious_elf26]

So does this mean we should expect tuition to decrease??? I'm kind of confused because first, there was an article that said there would be increases in tuition, then there was an article that said grants are being slashed, then there was an article that said Bush was going to increas grants by $500.

[Useruser666]

SAC is dirt cheap. Go there and then take advantage of the 2+2 program and transfer to UTSA or wherever else.

[Duff McCartney]

SAC is dirt cheap. Go there and then take advantage of the 2+2 program and transfer to UTSA or wherever else.

Alot of people do...but regardless tuition costs are still high as hell.

[Useruser666]

Then save your money.

[violentkitten]

what the fuck are you bitching about you scammed someone else into paying for your fat ass

[bigzak25]

:lol http://www.extremeskins.com/forums/images/smilies/doh.gif

[Useruser666]

Ouch

[attyjackiechiles]

Today's institutions of higher learning are taking advantage of the higher incomes college graduates are demanding.
It's a practice that is dangerous, contagious....outrageous!!!

[GoldToe]

i don't really know you, so i'll assume that was sarcastic. if not ..

That you for giving me the benefit of the doubt and yes, I was being sarcastic.
I wish higher education was available for all but alas that is simply not the case. Some simply were not meant for college and there are those who think they were meant for college but haven't got a clue.

[MannyIsGod]

Then save your money.

DAMN. Now why didn't anyone think of that before?

I guess we can go around using our military to supposubly help the world and all of you jump up in down cheering. However, people here should just help themselves.

[bigzak25]

land of opportunity, not land of handouts.

[Extra Stout]

land of opportunity, not land of handouts.If only the wealthy can afford an education, then where is the opportunity?

[MannyIsGod]

land of opportunity, not land of handouts.

Really? Do you think that the tax dollars you spend pay for the entire amount of government services you use? Heh, try again.

[violentkitten]

maybe i am missing something but cant a resident student at a public university in texas get enough federal loans to pay for their tuition and then some? that is, if they qualify for financial aid. if they dont then im not gonna cry for them

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

maybe i am missing something but cant a resident student at a public university in texas get enough federal loans to pay for their tuition and then some? that is, if they qualify for financial aid. if they dont then im not gonna cry for them

I'm not exactly sure how much you can get from the gov't in student loans, but what I was offered (and accepted) covered almost my tuition and books (off by about $300). I had enough in grants to take out a good chunk of that tuition, though.

Those pieces are interesting. We're planning on running a similar series at The Star this semester.

[MannyIsGod]

maybe i am missing something but cant a resident student at a public university in texas get enough federal loans to pay for their tuition and then some? that is, if they qualify for financial aid. if they dont then im not gonna cry for them

Actually, thats the point. Loans aren't covering tuition now. Especially for younger students, because the amounts you can borrow are limited based on how many credit hours you already have completed.

Everyone is eligible for loans regardless of their financial standing, even if you are rich out th wazoo. It's the grants that are based upon financial need.

You can easily afford a place like SAC, but even a so so school like UTSA is going to be out of reach very soon.

Is pricing out the poor segments of our population really the best way to pursue higher education? Is this really the best course of action for society as a whole?

It's amazing that people say it's not about handouts, but the [b]facts[b] all point to college graduates putting much more into the system than they take out.

However, if you want to play the it's not about handouts card, then feel free. It really makes no sense anyway you look at it.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Just for shits and giggles. Here's the estimated costs of tuition and fees at a four-year university in Texas for one semester under a 14-hour courseload.

UTSA - $2,504.20
Texas State - $2,965.00
Univ. of Texas - $3,393.00 (only based on "full-time" load which is normally meant as 12 hours)
Texas A & M - $2,805.10 (based on doubled amount given on website for fall and spring semester)
Texas Tech - $3,075.00 (based on fall 2004 @ 15 hours)

[MannyIsGod]

And for more shits and giggles, here are the Stafford loan limits per one year. In other words, divide these by 2 if you want to find out what you get per semester.

If you're a dependent undergraduate student you can borrow up to

* $2,625 if you're a first-year student enrolled in a program of study that is at least a full academic year.
* $3,500 if you've completed your first year of study and the remainder of your program is at least a full academic year.
* $5,500 a year if you've completed two years of study and the remainder of your program is at least a full academic year.

If you're an independent undergraduate student or a dependent student whose parents are unable to get a PLUS Loan, you can borrow up to

* $6,625 if you're a first-year student enrolled in a program of study that is at least a full academic year (only $2,625 of this amount may be in subsidized loans).
* $7,500 if you've completed your first year of study and the remainder of your program is at least a full academic year (only $3,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans).
* $10,500 a year if you've completed two years of study and the remainder of your program is at least a full academic year (only $5,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans).



Ok, and just so you know, untill the age of 24, you are a dependent student unless you have a child or are married.

[MannyIsGod]

Tuition also does not factor in the cost of books and supplies.

[violentkitten]

http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/student_guide/2004_2005/english/types-stafford.htm

according to this a student can borrow 6625 in their first year, 7500 in the second, and 10500 in the 3rd and 4th.

[violentkitten]

if you can borrow in addition to getting a pell grant that should suffice. at some point maybe other people shouldnt have to pay for someone elses kids to go to college

public university tuition is already heavily subsidized as it is.

[MannyIsGod]

Ok, you know, I don't know why I brought this in here. It's like banging my head against the wall.

Fuck man, public school tuition for k-12 is WAY heavily subsidized. It's about time those damn kids pulled their own weight. It's not like it pays off as a societal benefit overall very quickly.

If you people can't see past black and white ideology with a little bit of common sense, there's no point in my standing on top of a soap box.

[violentkitten]

then of course there is perhaps the parents who can give something as well as the student themselves who might just have to get a part time job. not easy but its a path.

you tend to bring stuff in here about how people should be given more and more when they already enjoy a good amount of assistance. dont be surprised when people, a lot of who have struggled themselves, react negatively to your ideas

[Yonivore]

Fastweb you people...write some essays! Over 50% of my daughter's $25,000 a year tuition, books, room & board, and meals is being paid by scholarships that we found and applied for on Fastweb. With the Stafford Loans and some other grants, I think we forked over about $1,200 bucks for her Freshman year...that's books, meals, and shelter included.

Get busy people...the money's there.

[violentkitten]

i think it is common sense that everything shouldnt just be handed to someone. i mean i dont really feel like paying for you to go to school so you can drink beer a lot and post on the internets about how life is so unfair

[violentkitten]

there also a tuition tax credit which will cut a parents tax bill by a grand or two.