Chris Kemp

Does a rise in tuition really mean more access and better services for students? Think again about where your money is really going and whether or not last year’s biennial budget with its $1,400 rise in tuition meant a better quality in your classroom.

Over the past few weeks, people have weighed in their opinions concerning tuition, specifically regarding how much it should be increased.

Many have expressed their concerns about the proposed tuition freeze because it would be detrimental to the health of the UW System, and this is a valid concern, one shared by students, faculty and staff.

What many didn’t understand, whether from misinterpretation or misinformation, is those students requesting the tuition freeze also called for the state to pay the balance. They don’t want to see students’ financial needs satisfied by cutting other essential parts of the UW System.

Many of the staff who support the students on a daily basis by serving their needs (such as the food service employees and library staff) rely on the UW System budget to stay employed.

This also creates a great concern for many professors on campus, because if the freeze was not accompanied with more state-supported wages, this would inevitably force many to relocate to better-paying universities.

Most students realize the quality of their education largely is based on the facilities at their disposal, and cutting the resources available to students should not be an option.

Unfortunately, the state doesn’t share these concerns.

According to Academic Affairs and Business Services documents, the governor’s budget for 2005-2007 institutes what is called Efficiency Measures, essentially budget cuts eliminating 200 essential positions to alleviate $65 million, with the third-largest cuts allotted to UW-Eau Claire.

The well-being of the UW System should be a top priority of the state since the future of Wisconsin directly is affected by those graduates who will someday be the leaders.

According to United Council documents, the UW System only made up 9 percent of the total state budget, but took 38 percent of the cuts in 2003-2005. In addition, during that time the biennial budget for the UW System was cut by $250 million, and students were called on to satisfy the budget with a tuition increase of $150 million.

These huge increases affected all students at UW-Eau Claire, especially those students who fall between the lines of qualification for financial aid. Those in this gap are being punished and priced out of a public education. Meanwhile, the pool of aid from the federal government is continuing to shrink as many of the grants that students rely on are being cut.

For example, according to United States Student Association documents, the Pell grant has declined from covering 84 percent of tuition at a four-year public institution in 1975-1976 to covering only 34 percent of tuition today.

Since available grant money is less and grants are given on a priority need basis, many students who would normally qualify are being turned away.

Wisconsin always has held a standard of low tuition and low financial aid because Wisconsin students have typically enjoyed 85 percent of their grants, loans and financial aid coming from the federal budget. However, in the current federal budget (which looks like it will pass) five major programs are being completely cut including the Perkins Loan and Gear-Up. Other severely affected programs, such as the federal work study, eventually will be cut.

An English professor once told me Eau Claire was known for accepting all those who meet the qualifications, no matter if they had the financial means.

The huge increases in tuition, whether you agree with them or not, are moving the UW System away from a public to a private university system.

Every dollar more a student has to pay is another step down that path and those students that would qualify and normally attend a university may have to employ other options.

Students are now called on to support two-thirds of the System budget, an uncommonly large proportion relative to the past.

This all paints a discouraging picture, but it is important to give praise where praise is due.

According to government documents, the current governor is calling for an increase of 2.6 percent in GPR dollars (the state’s contribution), more than previous governors, and he did this without cutting from the very successful K-12 education system.

However, this small step is still not enough for suitable assistance. The charge of the state is to keep education affordable to all those who qualify, not just for the individual, but also for the prosperity of the state as a whole.

In conjunction, state legislators must know that their actions will be held accountable should the UW System need to receive more financial hacking.

Students, this is your education and you have the numbers … what do you want to see done?

Radcliffe is a sophomore columnist for The Spectator. Junior Erika Dinkel-Smith contributed to this column.