Most students have heard by now that energy costs and other budgeting concerns are leading to financial cuts in departments across the Institute. Even with the reductions, most realize that tuition is still going to rise; we hope, however, that everything is done to keep this raise in check. Last year, tuition increased over seven percent and room and board around four percent. Many students struggled to afford basic living expenditures due to these increases, and we hope that this is taken into account when the Board of Trustees approves the budget for the next fiscal year.
Of course, hoping something happens does not make it so. It appears that some rate increase decisions have already been made. The final pricing is pending the Board’s approval, but if the budget goes through as proposed, students opting to live on campus next year will find that room and board have again increased—rooms around four percent on average and the meal plans around five percent. A similar rise in tuition is not outside the realm of imagination. With promises to keep financial aid proportional to cost near-hollow, these numbers are unacceptable.
While increases are to some extent inevitable, the fact remains that living on campus already costs far more than what many pay to live off campus. An eye should be turned toward efficiency before increases are made to cost. For example, perhaps instead of raising the prices of rooms again, Residence Life could have rethought some of their staffing decisions; last year, they replaced the few apartment managers with resident assistants. There are now more staff members providing the same level of service to the on-campus apartments, and more employees means more salary costs.
We recognize that great change is reshaping the campus, and that transition comes at a cost. Growing beyond the means of the campus community, however, is not wise. We urge the Board of Trustees to use the power they have to ensure that these changes do not lead to any member of the campus being excluded from the community.
