Thursday, March 6, 1997
FEES:
Campaign strives to lower price, increase value of college
degreesBy Parimal M. Rohit
With a new millennium just around the corner, hopes and
expectations are high. Not only are we entering a new century and
millennium, we are also entering a new lifestyle. This is a
lifestyle with no end to the tunnel of technology. With every
passing day, the world seems to be coming smaller and smaller.
Associated with new lifestyles are positive attitudes. Yet can that
be the case among today’s college students? How bright is the
future for current and prospective college students? Do we have
much to look forward to in the 21st century?
The fact is that the future of education is bleak. Your tuition
and book prices seem to raise every quarter. The chances of you
getting a job after graduation are getting lower as the years pass.
At the current rate of rising costs of education and highly
competitive job markets, it may likely be that future college
students may be deprived of their access to education. More and
more students find that education puts a big hole in their pockets
(or at least their parents’ pockets). Financial aid is not living
up to its task. Grants are declining every year, as more and more
students are only offered loans. With bleak job prospects, students
will have a difficult time paying back those loans on time.
Students now have debts that are almost insurmountable. Thus, it
seems that higher learning does not have a bright future in the
next millennium. Or does it?
At UCLA (as well as the other UC campuses) we have started a
Millennium program that encompasses just about every student on
campus. The fact is that the problem of rising costs, lower
financial aid, weak job prospects and the like are problems of
students today! This is not a problem that will simply pass us by.
The Millennium program focuses not only on issues such as
affirmative action, welfare assistance and equal access to housing;
it also encompasses financial aid, book costs and tuition. It
understands that educational quality and access are often
determined by your checkbook, Whether you are a single parent who
has to work 30 hours a week or a student who has your finances for
education taken care of by your parents or through a good financial
aid package, this campaign includes you.
In the first of three parts, I will discuss educational
affordability. As mentioned, you may find that your financial aid
packages are offering more loans than grants. Additionally,
President Clinton is considering cutting off Cal Grants. Unless,
you come from a poor background or your grades are perfect, in all
likelihood the chances are that you will have a large part of your
financial aid package in the form of loans. This is not so bad if
you get a well-paid job right after graduation. Yet, realistically
speaking, the prospects of getting a well-paid job that can help
pay off your loans is highly unlikely. Thus, loans will be a large
burden on students for years to come. Some students could be
"turned off’ by receiving a financial aid package consisting of
loans. I did not accept one of my other college admissions because
I was given just under $13,000 of loans for a $14,000 school year.
The remaining money was directly out of my pocket (except for a
small grant that would not have helped much).
At UCLA, the average cost for students is over $13,000 a year.
Most students will have a hard time paying at least $52,000 for a
bachelor’s degree. This is assuming that fees stay the same for a
student’s four-year stay. Moreover, only 30 percent of UC students
graduate in 4 years. Obviously, you would have to invest more money
in order to extend your stay here. This does not include those of
you who plan to attend graduate programs. I plan to attend law
school. The law schools that I am considering will place me in
$100,000 debt when I am done. While it is true that the long-term
value of education far exceeds the economic value of it, fees that
are too high can in fact prevent students from pursuing a higher
education. The lack of financial aid or personal funds plus the
burden to pay back tremendous loans after college makes education
seem as if it is a waste of time. With this in mind, it is one of
the goals of the Millennium program to allow students to receive
more grants than loans. We must keep in mind that the money is
available. The problem is that the money is being spent elsewhere.
In the California budget, more money is now being spent on prison
construction and maintenance than education. We must also keep in
mind that a lot of that money is being spent on prisoners of our
age group. If this campaign is successful, that money can still be
invested within our age group. Yet this time it will be for
promoting students to go to school, not to jail. Additionally, we
can increase the amount of grant money that students receive by
opposing various bank lobbies. Banks make a profit from you and I
going to college.
Their lobbies increase the loans that we receive so they can
profit off the interest. Why should the banks profit at our
expense? If we practice our voice and counter-lobby the banks and
the politicians, we can make public education more affordable. But
it is up to us to act. If we just sit back and watch, we might as
well watch our futures pass us by!
Though, about 60 percent of UCLA students receive financial aid
of some sort, there are other things that affect the students
economically. All of us have to buy books and food. The prices of
these two categories are rising astronomically. Food prices rise
every year, yet quality and service always seem lackluster. I spend
about $100 a month on food. Moreover, I am disgruntled from the
lack of quality and service of the food services on campus.
Recently, I have been resorting to eating off campus  it’s
much cheaper and the service is quite better. Books are more than
likely overpriced. My book expenses easily exceed $400 per quarter.
Many of the books that we buy on campus can be found at somewhat
cheaper prices at outside bookstores. Thus, the student government
has initiated two programs that can help us save some money in both
areas. The Book Lending Program is already in effect. In this
program, various classes have books that can be lent out to
students for the duration of the class. Once the class is over, you
can return the book. It is similar to checking a book out of the
library. Except here, you can keep the book for the duration of the
class at no financial obligations. Thus, there is less of a burden
on us to squeeze out some money for books.
The Food Voucher Program is still in the planning stages, yet is
scheduled to go in effect in the spring. This program will benefit
any student that eats on campus. Being a commuter, my food expenses
can range from $100 to $200 per month. That can be as much as
$2,000 for food expenses in a school year. While my expenses may be
rather high compared to my fellow Bruins, food prices are still
high. The average student at UCLA spends $2.49 on food every day.
That is about $10 to $12 per week. With this program, students will
be able to get some of that money back. One of the top proposals is
a tiered system. In this system, for every dollar you spend, you
get a small percentage back. If you spend $50 a quarter, 10 percent
of that will be reimbursed to you. If you spend $100 a quarter, you
may get 15 percent back. In other words, the more you spend, the
higher the percentage of it will be returned to you in the end.
Moreover, your food expenses (which are included in your
educational expenses) will be somewhat lower.
One of the most ambitious yet realistic proposals of this
program is the 11-percent fee rollback. This is a proposal that
will affect all students on campus. Since 1990, fees have increased
by 135 percent. If this trend continues, education will be less
affordable, and indirectly less accessible.
Moreover, the president’s Office proposed charging students for
various course materials. This includes lab equipment or art
materials. Fees may also be added for Internet or e-mail use. If
students take more than four years to graduate, additional fees
would be added. This is significant, since only 30 percent of UC
students graduate within 4 years. Yet, the salaries of 68 top-level
administrators have increased. Why have top-level administrators
increased their salaries while making it harder for students to
come up with the money to put us through college?
According to UC Berkeley professor emeritus Charlie Schwartz,
the UC President’s Office could cut up to $100 million in its
administrative budget. This will allow for a 11-percent fee
rollback to all UC students  including nonresidents and
graduate/professional students. A 11-percent fee rollback will make
higher learning more affordable for students and will put money
where it belongs  in the students’ pockets.
Each year, tens of thousands of California high school graduates
look forward to obtaining a degree at many of our fine colleges.
Yet, hope is all they will be left with. The UC regents only seem
to promise higher fees and higher salaries. Additionally, many
students will no longer be given a chance to put their foot in the
door because of affirmative action ending and the rising costs of
public education. California has an economy large enough to be the
seventh largest in the world. Yet, according to the January 1997
issue of Education Week, California’s education ranks dead last in
the nation. This is despite the fact that we are no longer in a
recession. The priorities of this state must be changed! We must
invest in our future by investing in our education.
Of course, there are just proposals. Implementation means action
on our part. It is up to us to make sure that we have the best
future for ourselves. If we let this slip away, the 21st century
will not be our millennium. Instead, it will be the century of the
elite few! The future is not as bright as it seems. Yet, we and
only we can make it a brighter one. We have the power to do what it
takes to ensure that our future, as well as the future of the
following generations, have a chance to realize its full potential.
But we have to act now! Throughout the rest of the quarter,
students will be at various parts of campus asking fellow Bruins to
sign postcards to send to the UC Board of Regents, Gov. Pete
Wilson, Sens. Feinstein and Boxer, several local representatives,
and even the White House. As of today we have had some support. To
those of you who already have signed these postcards  THANK
YOU! We have not forgotten those who have already helped or
committed themselves to the program! Your voice WILL be heard! Make
the upcoming millennium OUR MILLENNIUM!
The problem of rising costs, lower financial aid, weak job
prospects … are problems of students today!