Tuition at CU increases every year. (Pictures of Money/Flickr)
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The students of CU Boulder are all aware of the steep price of tuition that comes with the attending school. However, what they should know is that, by all standards, the tuition of CU is unfairly high.
The University of Colorado Boulder has continued to increase tuition annually while raking in endowments that should be going towards making the cost of attendance more cohesive with the quality of education provided.
Endowments represent money that has been donated to universities and colleges. Endowments are used for many purposes, some restricted by the donor of said endowment. These purposes include student financial aid, teaching, research, athletics, etc.
As explained by the American Council on Education, “At institutions with large endowments, endowment spending contributes significant resources toward their operating budgets […] Thus endowment spending helps to keep tuition below the level that would be necessary if tuition alone paid the true cost of educating a student.”
In 2011, the University of Colorado had the largest endowment of any university in the state at over $784.5 million, having increased 17.9 percent from the previous year.
CU’s current system-wide endowment is over $1.06 billion.
Today, CU’s endowments continue to grow at an impressive rate. Reported in 2017, the University of Colorado’s endowment had gained 15 percent in one year, significantly higher than the 2017 national increase average of 12.7 percent.
However, as CU’s endowments have increased over the years, so has its tuition.
Since 2011, undergraduate in-state tuition per semester has increased by an average of $1,900 per major and undergraduate out-of-state tuition has increased by $2,354.20 (based on students taking 18 credit hours). In addition, the cost of standard room and board has increased by $1,156 per semester.
|
Tuition increases by major from 2011 to 2016 |
||
|
In-State |
Out-of-State |
|
| Arts and Sciences |
$1,282 |
$2,233 |
| Music |
$1,303 |
$2,259 |
| Journalism/CMCI |
$1,927 |
$2,856 |
| Business |
$2,515 |
$2,006 |
| Engineering |
$2,473 |
$2,417 |
If the university’s endowments are growing so drastically, why isn’t that reflected in tuition prices?
Besides the fact that tuition should be decreasing due to endowments, CU’s tuition is simply not worth the value of the education the university provides.
College Factual has ranked the University of Colorado Boulder at a very low #873 on the list of Best College for the Money. “when compared to other colleges and universities nationwide that deliver the same caliber of education, the net price to attend CU – Boulder is higher than it should be.”
Some students at CU Boulder have come to that conclusion on their own. When considering the education and experience he has received thus far at CU Boulder, freshman Jordan Maestas described it as “not at all” worth the steep tuition.
“I don’t think the value of learning that is provided is worth the amount of money they charge,” Maestas said. “Maybe for engineering and business but I still believe it’s more than it should be.”
Maestas has decided to leave CU Boulder next semester. Freshman Kourtney Grunlien will also be leaving CU Boulder next fall, one of the main factors in her decision being tuition.
“I think I could get the same education for less money — at least for my undergraduate work — somewhere else,” Grunlien said. “I don’t think the tuition prices are fair, especially for in-state.”
Freshman Alexis Andrew holds similar beliefs about CU’s prices.
“I think we get charged for unnecessary things,” said Andrew. “I also think the price of room and board for a room that has no bathroom, let alone even a sink in the room, is pretty expensive.”
The cry of students for more affordable education is not new. This is an issue that was addressed on a national scale during the presidency of Barack Obama.
In 2012, President Obama visited CU Boulder and vowed to hold both the government and individual universities accountable for making college affordable. With CU’s tuition steadily increasing since 2012 and the United States being under a new president who has called for “massive cuts to college student aid programs,” students at CU — and everywhere else — are now in a treacherous financial situation.
While CU has introduced measures to lower tuition, tuition has continued to increase year after year and will again be increasing in 2018. Echoing the students quoted in this article, the current changes are simply not enough.
Tuition should not continue to rise while the University of Colorado’s endowments have been increasing for years. CU students and third-party organizations alike have already recognized CU Boulder’s education is not worth the price, so when will the university realize that itself?
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Hannah Metzger at hannah.metzger@colorado.edu.
