Tuition and school fees are steadily towering over college students. Moreover, these debt inducing prices are often intangible and without direct information from the administration.
Luckily, the Associated Students of the University of Oregon will be holding a Tuition and Fees Advisory Board (TFAB) meeting this Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the EMU Ballroom. The meeting will provide students an opportunity to interact directly with the administration in order to gain information about their tuition. They will also discuss the effects the new state budget will have on tuition in the near future.
The TFAB meeting is quite valuable as it gives students the chance to take an active role in a monetary matter that directly affects them (and their wallets) for the whole time they spend in higher education.
It is unfortunate that our society puts a monetary amount on our education, a piece of life that is becoming a requirement to have an occupation.
The ASUO is providing an opportunity for students to become informed about a matter they will have to deal with in the form of debt even after they have a degree in hand.
According to Saving for College, an online organization that provides tools to handle college costs, it is assumed that tuition will increase an average of 5 percent each year. This statistic proves true for UO’s tuition. In a letter regarding the budget released by Governor Kate Brown late in 2016, Michael H. Schill, UO President and Professor of Law, with Scott Coltrane, Provost and Senior Vice President, informed students that it will be impossible to keep tuition rise under 5 percent for next year because of the insufficient budget.
Despite this warning of rising tuition, many students just put up with the heavy burden of high tuition and limited scholarships because it has become normalized — high debt has become an expectation as well as a reality. But with the chance to connect with administration, students are able to advocate against the developing norms of raising tuition with well informed arguments.
Universities encounter multiple challenges when weighing students’ well being and the reality of state regulations. Despite the administration’s requirements to fulfill, they are not deaf to the voices of their student populations. Thus, the TFAB meeting highlights the impact students can have on the issues plaguing their university. What’s more, this meeting, taking place this Tuesday, provides students a place to practice student advocacy through the opportunity to gain crucial information and input about tuition.