Last week the Connecticut Board of Regents approved a tution hike of almost four percent for the CSU Schools, which includes our university, as well as the 12 community colleges in the state. The increase may currently seem like a hassle for some students, but our institution can only benefit from these changes.
If you take a look at our campus, you can already see where the money is going. With a new academic building on the way for 2013 as well as future plans for a new residence hall, cafeteria and police station, it is evident that our money is being put to good use. It is not being spent in ways that will not benefit the entire student body or being funneled to a certain department.
Some may argue that they will not be here to set foot into any of these new buildings, but one must remember the welfare of this university will follow you after graduation. When asked what university you attended in the near future, one should feel a sense of pride that you graduated from CCSU. That pride can grow over the years as you continue to see CCSU prosper. If one were to discuss the state that this university was in 30 years ago, you would be astonished to see the improvements that have been made. Alumni continue to come back to take part in the CCSU community and events because they are proud of the accomplishments the university has made.
Taking a look at other universities in Connecticut that do not fall under the CSU schools’ jusrisdiction, the amount that students have to pay in order to receive an education is well above what the average student here has to pay. A commuter student at Quinnipiac University pays $36,000 per year, where at CCSU an in-state resident pays approximately $18,000. The difference between the two is significant, and should be enough to convince CSU students that an extra $600-700 is really nothing in comparison.
UConn will raise its tuition by six percent for the fall semester and in-state undergraduates will pay $22,430, while also facing a steady climb to an almost seven percent increase by 2016. These hikes were unanimously approved in December and also adds to the fact that our tuition could be more expensive if the Board was to use UConn as a benchmark.
Students at CCSU enjoy looking down on this university for countless reasons, but they need to realize that the fact the university is making an effort to improve itself and its facilities is commendable. Education is an industry in the U.S., unlike most other countries, and we should all feel priveleged and want to contribute towards improvment. Thinking about all that a student can do with their time at CCSU, it seems like a 3.7 percent increase is a small sacrifice when looking at the big picture.
Our university has a plethora of clubs, committees and sponsored events that students can take advantage of and, even though there are many that do not jump at these opportunities, that is no reason to say that one should not want to pay a small increase in tuition. There are many at this school that want to take full advantage of what the university has to offer, and we should not forfeit that because of a lack of state funding.
