2008 Woodie Awards
School year arrives with tuition hike
Becky Kuschel
Issue date: 7/2/07 Section: News
The start of the 2007-08 school year brings another tuition and fees increase.
Students attending Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) for the 2007-08 school year will be paying an average of $175 more in tuition and fees.
SCSU students will find themselves paying $236 more than they paid during the 2006-07 academic year.
The average increase among MnSCU schools is 3.9 percent, with SCSU coming in at 4.3 percent. This is lower than last year's (2006-07) average increase of 6.8 percent among MnSCU schools and 5.7 percent at SCSU.
Melinda Voss, public relations director for MnSCU, said rates vary among schools because tuition rates depend on the type of programs offered at the college or university and by the local market conditions.
"The rate of increase is largely determined by how much money the Legislature appropriates to the system," Voss said. "Each of the 32 colleges and universities in the system develops a budget based on projected costs for the coming year and requests a specific tuition. The chancellor and his staff review these proposals and work with colleges and universities to make sure they are making the best and most efficient use of their resources. The chancellor then makes a recommendation to the Board of Trustees, which holds two public hearings before discussing the recommendations and making a final decision."
Jaime Kramer, a fourth-year management major, works 30-45 hours a week between her two jobs and takes out loans to pay off her tuition.
"I have to work more and longer hours while attempting to do well in my classes to make up the difference," Kramer said. "I just want to know why they are being increased."
Voss said the size of the tuition increase is largely determined by how much money the Legislature appropriates to MnSCU.
"In 2000, the Legislature appropriated enough money to pay about two-thirds of the cost of educating students. Currently, the state appropriation covers about half of the cost, and tuition makes up the rest. To be precise, for every $1 that a student pays in tuition, the state pays $1.07 to support a student's education," Voss said. "As in any business or any family, costs go up each year for food, fuel, health care, utilities, wages and other costs of delivering a high-quality education."
Kramer said she hopes her higher education will eventually balance out the price of the education.
"Otherwise, there is no hope left for anybody who is trying to make a decent living in this world," she said. "I feel that for my kids to have any college in their future, I better start saving now or they do not stand a chance in this world of increasing educational costs."
Voss said ultimately the board can help the Legislature and the public understand that strong appropriations to MnSCU will help keep tuition low.
As for next year's tuition costs, Voss said no decisions have yet been made.
"No determination has been made about whether 2008-2009 tuition will be lower or higher than 2007-2008," she said. "The board has asked the chancellor to provide information about the impact of holding the 2008-2009 tuition increase to 3 percent or less at the state universities and to 2 percent or less at the state colleges."
Students attending Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) for the 2007-08 school year will be paying an average of $175 more in tuition and fees.
SCSU students will find themselves paying $236 more than they paid during the 2006-07 academic year.
The average increase among MnSCU schools is 3.9 percent, with SCSU coming in at 4.3 percent. This is lower than last year's (2006-07) average increase of 6.8 percent among MnSCU schools and 5.7 percent at SCSU.
Melinda Voss, public relations director for MnSCU, said rates vary among schools because tuition rates depend on the type of programs offered at the college or university and by the local market conditions.
"The rate of increase is largely determined by how much money the Legislature appropriates to the system," Voss said. "Each of the 32 colleges and universities in the system develops a budget based on projected costs for the coming year and requests a specific tuition. The chancellor and his staff review these proposals and work with colleges and universities to make sure they are making the best and most efficient use of their resources. The chancellor then makes a recommendation to the Board of Trustees, which holds two public hearings before discussing the recommendations and making a final decision."
Jaime Kramer, a fourth-year management major, works 30-45 hours a week between her two jobs and takes out loans to pay off her tuition.
"I have to work more and longer hours while attempting to do well in my classes to make up the difference," Kramer said. "I just want to know why they are being increased."
Voss said the size of the tuition increase is largely determined by how much money the Legislature appropriates to MnSCU.
"In 2000, the Legislature appropriated enough money to pay about two-thirds of the cost of educating students. Currently, the state appropriation covers about half of the cost, and tuition makes up the rest. To be precise, for every $1 that a student pays in tuition, the state pays $1.07 to support a student's education," Voss said. "As in any business or any family, costs go up each year for food, fuel, health care, utilities, wages and other costs of delivering a high-quality education."
Kramer said she hopes her higher education will eventually balance out the price of the education.
"Otherwise, there is no hope left for anybody who is trying to make a decent living in this world," she said. "I feel that for my kids to have any college in their future, I better start saving now or they do not stand a chance in this world of increasing educational costs."
Voss said ultimately the board can help the Legislature and the public understand that strong appropriations to MnSCU will help keep tuition low.
As for next year's tuition costs, Voss said no decisions have yet been made.
"No determination has been made about whether 2008-2009 tuition will be lower or higher than 2007-2008," she said. "The board has asked the chancellor to provide information about the impact of holding the 2008-2009 tuition increase to 3 percent or less at the state universities and to 2 percent or less at the state colleges."