To balance state budget cuts, Gov. Jim Doyle recently proposed a nearly 17 percent tuition increase for students enrolled in the UW System.

As students and residents of the state of Wisconsin, we should accept the increase as our contribution to solving the budget problems faced by the state.

The increases, at the rate of about $250 a semester, will mean $2,000 more over the course of a typical college career.

Currently, full-time students at UW-Eau Claire pay about $3,722 a year.

According to The College Board, a nonprofit college advocacy group, the national average cost of tuition and fees at public four-year universities is $4,081.

If you can do the math — which I assume most people who read this paper can, because we were smart enough to get into this university in the first place — it looks like we’re getting a pretty good deal. We’ve been receiving a top-quality education at a bargain-basement price.

With the tuition increases, the System would be brought closer to the costs of other state university systems.

In addition, the average cost of four-year universities around the country likely will be increasing with states nation-wide experiencing budget deficits. So, System students will likely still be paying less for their education than the majority of students attending four-year universities.

Students across the nation will be expected to put in their fair share to balance the budgets of their respective states. Why should we be an exception?

An extra $500 a year does seem like an awfully large burden, but for the high-quality education Eau Claire offers, I am willing to work a few more hours a week, spend money less frivolously and work a little harder to keep my education.

I would gladly pay $500 extra per semester if it would ensure that the quality of education is maintained.

Don’t get me wrong, I work two jobs and receive financial aid. I don’t have thousands of dollars, or any dollars for that matter, to throw around, but I also want to graduate from a university with a good reputation and tradition of providing quality education.

The education we will continue to receive — despite the possibility of larger classes, fewer class offerings and dropped majors and minors — is still worth way more than $4,000 a semester.

What we gain from this university cannot be measured in dollars. Outside of the educational curriculum, we are presented with countless opportunities to broaden our social and cultural horizons.

Students should be grateful that we are able to get an upper-level education at a reasonable price.

We should be thankful that the cost of our education has been minimal for such a long time.