Originally Posted by
Darthtang AW
http:///forum/post/3215184
Most students dont pay the retail price for college.... they pay a discounted rate, thanks to financial aid packages, which have kept pace pretty well with tuition increases. When grants and other non-loan student aid are factored in, the net cost of college (what students and their parents actually paid to be educated) rose less than 5% for most students between the 1992-93 academic year and 1999-2000, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The exception: students attending selective private colleges, who paid net costs that were 6.7% higher at the end of the 1990s than at the beginning.
Despite two decades of rising prices, 68% of full-time undergraduates attending four-year colleges still pay less than $8,000 in annual tuition and fees. The payoff: post-college incomes that are 60% higher than those of high school graduates and that, on average, mean $1 million more in lifetime income.
Colleges that want good rankings with U.S. News & World Reports annual college rankings and other college-rating programs shell out big bucks on ubiquitous high-speed Internet access, bigger and better dining facilities, new gyms and concert halls, apartments instead of dorms for students.
Half to two-thirds of the typical colleges budget goes to paying instructional salaries. So rising paychecks are indeed a factor in higher college costs. But few college profs are getting rich.
The median salary for a full-time college educator is $46,300, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The picture is brighter for those who have tenure: Full professors make an average $76,200, according to the American Association of University Professors.
The tenure system and the lack of mandatory retirement can make it tough to oust high-earning but less productive employees.
Discounted rate? There's no discounted rate at Texas State Universities. They have a Flat Rate Tuition where the only difference is whether you're a Texas resident or you're not. I found this article from a Dallas ABC affiliate that was written in 2007:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...1968ebbf2.html
Texas deregulated the tuitions in 2003, and they've escalated every year since then. Grants and non-loan student aid only apply to underprivileged and low income families. Trust me, I couldn't apply for any of those types of loans with my income.
Key Point: Since Republicans took over Texas government five years ago, tuition has skyrocketed -- increasing by 68% across the UT system. Bottom line: Republicans are pricing families out of the opportunity of higher education.
When Republicans took control of the Texas Legislature in 2003, they did everything in their power to shrink government in order to ensure that Texas families were left to drown in the bathtub. Take, for example, tuition deregulation.
Prior to 2003, the state invested in higher education tuition and set a hard cap for universities. This created low tuition for Texas colleges and universities, allowing Texas families -- many of whom are middle and working class -- to still have opportunties for higher education.
However, the 78th Legislature chose to implement tuition deregulation, allowing Texas colleges and universities to jack up tuition without any measurable increase in the quality of education. I started school in the fall of 2002, and left UT-Austin in the spring of 2006, and I never once witnessed any measurable increase in the quality of my education. I did, however, notice an increase in tuition -- an increase that is hitting students and families hard.
UT Regents -- appointed by the failed Republican leadership we must desparately replace -- have decided to increase tuition and fees at the UT system schools once again. Here is a look at the increase in tuition in fees, from the fall of 2003 (the last year before tuition deregulation) and what families can expect to pay when they begin their college journey next fall:
Increase in Tuition and Fees in UT System
Fall ‘03 Fall ‘08 Increase
UT-Arlington $ 2,366 $ 4,071 72.06%
UT-Austin $ 2,721 $ 4,266 56.78%
UT-Brownsville $ 1,490 $ 2,736 83.62%
UT-Dallas $ 2,622 $ 4,705 79.44%
UT-El Paso $ 1,837 $ 3,034 65.16%
UT-Pan American $ 1,561 $ 2,612 67.33%
UT-Permian Basin $ 1,749 $ 2,714 55.17%
UT-San Antonio $ 2,222 $ 3,832 72.46%
UT-Tyler $ 1,795 $ 2,994 66.80%
UT SYSTEM AVG $ 2,040 $ 3,440 68.62%
