Tuition hikes are a pain, but are necessary

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Check your e-mail inbox from the past couple of days and I’m sure you’ll notice an e-mail from Franklin College President Jay Moseley’s office.

The letter was sent to notify students about the 2010-2011 school year’s cost, including tuition and room and board. Spoiler Alert! It went up.

Now I know a lot of people on campus would be outraged. And it’s easy to understand why: No one wants to pay all that money to go to school. But the tuition hikes were minimal, only going up 6 percent.

Tuition hikes are to be expected, especially in tough economic times like these. As a senior who will be graduating in May, I don’t have to worry about the increase in costs. But those students who have to return to school don’t have to worry much, either.

As noted below, the cost of schooling will go up 5.95 percent compared to the last school year. This is a little higher compared to other tuition increases in the state. According to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, the average increase in tuition in Indiana is around 4.7 percent.

Starting this year, Franklin will allocate 1 percent of the money we pay to go toward maintenance issues that have been long ignored. After figuring in this cost, the increase is roughly the same.

And if you still aren’t convinced the hike isn’t that big of a deal, consider the two greatest sources funded through this money. The first is employee salaries. If it weren’t for the employees, we wouldn’t even be here paying money in the first place.

The second place this money goes is financial aid for students. According to Moseley’s e-mail, roughly 95 percent of students receive some sort of financial aid. Imagine it as a tax refund.

Vice President for Finance Bryan Spetter indicated the money will also help fund some provisions in the campus’ strategic plan.

Among the most notable include building up the student employment program on campus and providing various other services on campus.

To make a brief point about the jobs for students: Who doesn’t love making money? Enough said.

As far as the "various other services" I mentioned, those are up to you, the student body.

Spetter said the college is preparing a survey to find out what types of student services you want to stay open longer. Changes will be made based on the results of the survey.

Although a list for the potential services has not been formally established, Spetter did speculate to a few that would be on the list. They included dining services, the library, the Academic Resource Center, Student Affairs, the Business Office and potentially scheduling some classes later in the day.

So if you’re tired of Sodexo closing so late or the library not opening soon enough, be sure to vote in this survey when it comes out.

Sure, the hike in costs for the 2010-2011 school year seems like a pain. But in the grand scheme of things, it really isn’t that bad. In some cases, students could actually be getting some of that money back.

It’s the gift that keeps on giving the whole year ‘round.