A meeting of the Board of Trustees for the State University of New York have come to the decision that the tuition fees for SUNY Albany are to be increased again in the 2015-2016 school year. On November 6th, the board met to discuss the need to increase the fees at SUNY Albany for the fifth year running by another $300.
When the fees began to increase in 2011, SUNY Albany students were paying $4,970 a year to attend the school. Now after an amassed sum of $1,500 in increases, students will be expected to pay $6,470 a year come Autumn Semester of 2015.
But what is the extra money going towards?
According to SUNY spokesperson David Doyle, who spoke to the Poughkeepsie Journal exclusively, the money will be put towards programs which will allow SUNY schools to, “increase research, increase access, grow Open SUNY and promote completion within the SUNY system.” He also commented on any extra aid going to increasing staff salaries.
In the last five years it is hard to say whether the tuition fee rises have actually impacted the abilities of researchers and lecturers let alone affected the students themselves here at the University at Albany. All that seems to show where the money has gone is a brand new Business building but does that really aid people’s learning?
A senior at UAlbany, Patrick Moran, says, “I don’t particularly mind a tuition increase if the money goes to academics.” He went on to argue, “but if we can’t see where it’s going or it goes to cosmetic changes to the university, I think the students should have some input.”
The committee however, is made up of 18 members all of whom are governmentally appointed either from the Senate of the Council. Are these people really aware of what students need in this day and age?
Another student, Megan Fruin who studies Criminal Justice, has also commented on the rise in fees. She says that she’s, “sick of it,” adding, “I’ll still be paying off loans when I get out.” For Megan, “One of the reasons I chose to go here was because of the relatively low tuition,” but since the Five Year Tuition Plan started in 2011, she feels that, “College is getting crazily expensive, even the public schools aren’t that affordable anymore.”
The Five Year Tuition Plan was created in order to help keep SUNY schools afloat during a time of recession and state spending reductions. While many businesses and institutions suffered from the change in expenditures within New York State, the Five Year Tuition Plan allowed students to carry on their learning without any changes to the schooling system.
But now, when UAlbany is building brand new fountains and Business buildings, it has to be questioned whether the plan needs to remain in action. The need for a secure future for universities in New York State is vital of course and so the increase in tuition fees should be going into a foundation for the universities to stand on. Instead, the money seems to be going on aesthetically pleasing features which cost $64 million to build.
While the Board of Trustees say that this year’s rise in cost for tuition is the last, it still seems that there is a need for student voices within the board. With students at the forefront of decision making within SUNY universities, we can make a change to how things are done. Just one no voting student could make the difference between a rise in tuition and a decrease in school spending which would allow fees to remain the same.
In a perfect world universities would be free and paid for by the government, but unfortunately we live in Albany where students pay for fountains and extremely well-kept circles of grass. Hopefully, this will be the last year of tuition fees to be increased as the five years of the plan are over. But it all comes down to the Board of Trustees at next year’s meeting. Do you want to see the same thing happen for a sixth year running? Maybe it is time for a student committee to step in.
Photo Source: sbstatesman.com