One College Answers the Call for Lower Tuition Education Process Help

Posted on March 21 2011 by John Grant

One College Answers the Call for Lower Tuition

There is no doubt that making college more affordable would ease some of the burden being felt by economically struggling students and families.

Public Agenda is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public opinion research group dedicated to researching and publishing the American public’s opinions on a range of issues. In February, the organization published its findings from a November 2010 phone poll of 1,000 adults living in the U.S. In the poll, respondents were instructed to identify whether they feel that they are “struggling” in the current economy, and if so, to what degree. Of the respondents, 40% identified themselves as struggling “a lot,” and 42% said they are struggling “a little.” The results of the survey may provide some insight into the situations of average American families who feel that their current financial situations are bleak. The top answer, when asked how to help “struggling” households, was to make higher education more affordable. Over 63% of all respondents felt that reducing higher education costs would be more beneficial than preserving Social Security and Medicare benefits, expanding job-training programs, and even cutting taxes for the middle class.

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So how many colleges have responded to the call for lower tuition and a more affordable higher education system? Not surprisingly, only a very few. That’s why when Sewanee: The University of the South, a Tennessee college (ranked #32 in US News & World Report list of top liberal arts colleges), announced that it was reducing its cost of tuition, the higher education community took notice. The 10% reduction (amounting to about $4,600 in savings over last year) is in direct response to what school officials think students and their families need. The tuition reduction has been reported on by a variety of educational and governmental websites. Sewanee, with an endowment of over $300 million and an enrollment of about 1,500 undergraduate and graduate students, is not exactly financially strapped (when compared with schools such as nearby Bryan College, a Christian college with around 1,200 students and an endowment of close to $7 million). Other schools are less likely to be as progressive when setting tuition for the upcoming years. Most public schools raise tuition to cover costs, not to raise capital for increased spending. Schools often face a double-edged sword, with less funding and higher operating costs. Tighter state and federal budgets have trimmed the amount of funds available to public colleges and universities. Faculty, staff and administrator wages and health care costs continue to rise every year. Add to that the need for improvements in infrastructure and student resources, and schools are often left with no choice but to pass the cost burden on to their students.

It remains to be seen how many other colleges, if any, can afford to reduce tuition in an effort to help students and families during these difficult economic times.

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