Tuition rates for Georgia State as well as other schools in Georgia have substantially risen since the Great Recession in 2008, causing students to constantly worry about tuition prices.
“For me it’s a big problem, because it’s only my father that pays for my tuition,” Intensive English Program student Adissa Bamba said.
A report titled The Great Cost Shift Continues: State Higher Education Funding After The Recession by Demos, a U.S. research and policy organization that focuses on economic security and alternative measures for economic progress, was released on March 6. The report states that public universities and colleges were once a debt-free system; however, the nation’s higher education system has transitioned into what they call a “debt-for-diploma system.”
“…More than 7 out 10 of college seniors now borrow to pay for college and graduate with an average debt of $29,400. Up until about two decades ago, state funding ensured college tuition remained within the reach for most middle-class families, and financial aid provided extra support to ensure lower-income students could afford the cost of college,” the report says.
The report further explains that The Great Recession lead to tuition increases and declines for state funding in higher education.
On a national level, Demos says that the average tuition at 4-year public universities has increased by 20 percent in the four years since 2008. Prior to that it had risen by 14 percent.
“Nationwide, tuition at public 4-year universities has risen by an average of 20 percent or $1,282 since 2008. The increase in total cost—including room and board—has been even greater, rising by an average of $2,292 over the same period,” Demos says.
Tuition at 2-year public schools has also risen by an average of 18.5 percent, or $414 since 2008, Demos also reports.
Ndoutabe Melom Melodie, a student in the Intensive English Program (I.E.P) at Georgia State, said that she feels as though that the price of college tuition is unfair.
“It’s [college tuition] a problem. It is my parents who pay my tuition. I have four brothers and sisters, and they have to take care of them and send the money for school,” Melodie said.
Melodie also said that the price of college in America is much higher in comparison to the school she previously attended.
“I was in a french school when I was in Africa, and my tuition was 2,000 dollars a year,” she said.
All U.S. states except North Dakota have spent less per student for higher education in comparison to before the Great Recession, according to the report.
“In contrast, only 33 states cut per-student spending between 2001 and 2008, the period since the last recession. In many states, the cuts have been especially deep. Since the recession 28 states have cut per-student funding by more than 25 percent, compared to just one state – Michigan – that did so between 2001 and 2008,” the report says.
According to the report, from a historical standpoint, public colleges and universities get a large portion of their revenue from state and local funding and tuition and fees.
“So, when states cut higher education funding, schools essentially have two options for closing the gap: raise student charges—tuition, fees, room, and board—or cut salaries and services,” Demos says. “Most states have chosen to do both since the Great Recession, implementing steep hikes in charges for tuition, room, and board, and cutting thousands of course offerings and positions.”
The headcount for the fall 2013 semester included 309,469 students enrolled within colleges or universities in Georgia, according to a report released by the University System of Georgia. The report also stated that there were 314,365 students enrolled in college in fall 2012.
There are 32,000 students that currently attend Georgia State. Of the total population of students, 75 percent are undergraduates and 25 percent are graduate students, according to Georgia State’s website.
The National Center for Education Statistics’ (NCES) multi-year tuition calculator estimates that if a student was to attend Georgia State University starting in the 2013 – 2014 academic year, their total would be $35,041 for in-state and $93,313 for out-of-state.
NCES states on that for their multi-year tuition calculator, estimated prices do not include room and board or other various factors that may vary by program.
Bamba also said that other factors such as room and board, food allowance and other expenses are adding to what her father has to pay for her.
Demos concludes the report by referring to higher education as a true public good.
“…Its benefits accrue far beyond the individual who participates directly in the system. This is why, since the founding of public higher education, our nation has moved progressively toward expanding the doors of access. It is no accident that today some of the best state universities are land grant colleges—a legacy from the 1860s when the federal government granted federally controlled land to states to establish public universities and colleges,” the report says.
Demos also claims that federal financial aid is no longer providing the means enough to pay for the rising cost of college. The report states that the Pell Grant had once covered $7 out of every $10 that college cost, but now it covers $3.
“And so, the costs of funding our higher education system have increasingly been borne by students and their parents, chiefly by going into debt. Yet, higher education remains a public good—with all of us relying and depending on the system not just for the education of doctors, nurses, teachers, accountants and other professionals—but to provide the critical thinking that is the lifeblood of our democracy,” the report says.
