[Vision2020] Re: Costs of Attendance

[Sara Anderson]

Rob,

I agree with your assessment of UI whining in some respects, and in others I do not.  There are some significant differences between the dollars going into WSU and the dollars going into UI.  Think tax base, think number of students attending, think relative affluence of student population, think size of campus and number of faculty.  However, I really hate to hear the old line that charging these "student fees" is unconstitutional in this state.  I don't hate to hear it because it's not true - it is - I hate to hear it because it's ridiculous, and the constitution obviously needs to be amended.  Idaho is a poor state and cannot (let's not even touch will not) pay for the higher education of all its in-state students.  (I am one of those, by the way.)

UI gives a fantastic deal for what you pay, and even though I've seen a gigantic increase (percentage-wise) in my tuition since I started school in fall 2000, I still don't feel like I can complain that I'm being fleeced, or that the state ought to be footing the bill.

What I can complain about, and what I think the majority of the complaints are about, is financial mismanagement without the input of the University community.  I would complain a bit less if I knew I had any control over the use of my tuition dollars and tax dollars.  But when my tuition is going to buy flat screen monitors in all the computer labs, or an assistant football coach that gets paid more than a history professor, I start to get edgy.  

I may get quite a bang for my buck, as Tom said, but I see things deteriorating quickly, especially for those in the Humanities.  It put fear into my heart to hear University officials desiring to model the UI after ITT Tech.  

I find myself glad I'm graduating in May, so I don't have to watch my dollar's former bang become a whimper.  

- Sara