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 With
the great economic surge of the last eight years, everyone
has been cashing in on the extra disposable income afforded
to America's families. But the financial institution consuming
the lion's share of the growth has not been investments or
other capitalist ventures, as one might think. Instead, it
has been America's universities deceptively reaching into
the back pockets of the next generation.
Students
today, at the University of Arkansas and all over the country,
have to grapple with the fact that the cost of attending their
universities is increasing at a breakneck pace. With a potential
economic slowdown on the horizon, the economic burden that
higher education has become will find its proof in lower enrollments
if increases continue at the present rate.
Students
rally against increased tuition for the UA last April.
(Photo:
April
L. Brown)
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From
1980 to 1999, the tuition at the UA has jumped 533 percent.
While inflation does play a factor in the increase, the Consumer
Price Index disclosed a mere 74 percent rise in the overall
price of goods from 1980-1995. The UA's tuition rose 334 percent
during that same period; the U.S. Census Bureau reported the
average U.S. household income rose by 82 percent.
The U.S.
Census Bureau further reported the average Hispanic family in
Arkansas currently makes around $26,000 a year. The average
African American household brings in about $27,000, while the
average Caucasian family makes roughly $32,000. This disparity
leads to some potential and current students being affected
greatly by even the smallest tuition hike.
And
while the cost of living in the area has recently been on the
rise, there is still rumor of yet another tuition increase,
possibly making it the fifth consecutive year tuition increased.
Attempts are being made, however, to bare the weight of university
funding on sources other than student tuition.
There
are several different places in which public schools, like the
UA, can receive funds. Higher retention rates are an option,
and a viable one since the UA reported a 1.5 percent increased
enrollment over the previous semester. Not only are more students
graduating with an education, the university is making profits
off of their recruiting attempts.
The University
is currently interviewing a candidate for the Dean of Students
and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs position with said intentions
to hire the candidate most apt to take on the challenge of increasing
retention.
The
question that Associated Student Government president Eddie
Armstrong asked Chancellor White last year still echoes throughout
the student body: How is the rising cost of our education being
reflected in the quality of the education being given at this
university?
While
in the last 20 years there has been a shift from the original
mission of the University, its reason for its being must not
be forgotten. In the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1864, signed
by President Lincoln, the UA was established for the liberal
and practical education of the industrial classes. It is imperative
that the university and the legislature keep that in mind as
they look towards the expansion or restriction of the budget
for the next year.  |
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