Published: July 17, 2008 10:51 am            

Cost of education on the rise

DUNCAN — It’s no secret that the cost of higher education is on the rise. All over the state, regents have voted to increase tuition and fees at their institutions.

Cameron University is no exception. In June, the university’s governing board approved a $44 million budget and adjusted tuition and fees up by 9.4 percent.

CU President Cindy Ross said the budget is a reflection of trends in state funding and noted that officials recognize students need more financial assistance than ever to be able to achieve a higher education.

With the attitude, “We can do more with less,” Ross said that several measures have been taken to help keep students and parents’ financial responsibilities manageable. Student tuition and fee increases were the last measure taken to supplement the budget, she said.

“We cut costs and we reallocated internally,” Ross said, adding that some positions at the institution have been eliminated and others have not been filled at all.

And while some areas have suffered cuts, financial aid has been bolstered by a renewed effort to increase affordability.

“While we increased tuition and fees, we increased resident tuition waivers and scholarships by 10 percent,” Ross said.

Nearly $28 million of the university’s $44 million budget is allocated for students instruction and scholarships. Included is student campus employment, with wage increases from $6.00 an hour to $6.70 an hour — 15 cents above Federal minimum wage requirements — and Cameron Gold, which provides Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program students help paying fees and books, which are not covered by OHLAP scholarships.

But even with increases in aid students are still paying a higher portion of education costs as funding from states declines.

Ross said the Oklahoma State Regents Board has always had a goal of having a student pay one-third of the cost of education.

“We got to the one-third and then kept on going because the state kept cutting funds,” she said. “Historically the student paid 25 percent. Now, students are paying 43 percent of their cost of education.”

The crunch is placing higher education institutions in even more precarious situations, as they try to find a balance between continuing to provide quality education and making that education affordable.

“ The future of any state or society is determined by the education of its people,” Ross said. “But it must be access to high quality education.

“I am hopeful that our legislative leaders will recognize that education, whether it’s K through 12, higher education or vocation training, is an investment, not an expenditure,” she continued. “It’s an investment in our future.”

        

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