News
November 19, 2008
WVU student leader calls for tuition freeze
Officials say it's too early for a pledge
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. - West Virginia University's student-body president is calling on officials to consider freezing tuition, saying many students and their families are struggling to pay school bills.

Student government leaders hope to start talking with administrators about students' financial hardships, and plan to travel to Charleston to speak to state legislators, said student body president Jason Parsons.

Parsons said he hopes officials can pledge to not raise tuition, adding that some students have had to take on extra jobs, transfer to community colleges closer to home or drop out of school.

"Nothing can be off the table at this point," Parsons said, adding that he understands state appropriations will impact the university's budget. "A tuition freeze can't be off the table."

Earlier this month, WVU's board of governors discussed how the nation's financial crisis could affect higher education. Parsons wrote about the issue on his Student Government Association blog last week, and has sent a letter to interim President Peter Magrath.  

He also is organizing a meeting of Big East student-body presidents to write a statement to Congress on the need for increased federal financial aid.

"I think it's very important that the flagship university of West Virginia takes leadership on this issue," he said.

Parsons said WVU is "very affordable" compared to some other schools - but emphasized the word "comparable." Currently, West Virginia residents pay $5,100 per year for tuition, while nonresidents pay $15,770.

This spring, WVU's board of governors approved an 8 percent tuition hike, in part to help keep faculty and staff salaries in line with similar institutions. In 2007, tuition rose 5.5 percent.

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Posted By: smarbap (9:07pm 11-19-2008)
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Why have employers and parents alike come to view a college education as necessary? This is a notion that needs to change. If college actually provided training toward mastery of one's future occupation, then its value would be priceless. In most instances, however, such is not the case. At present, most college instruction is sadly little more than a presentation of facts that could benefit only a game show contestant. And yet, despite the fact that some students are neither adequately prepared nor well-suited for college life, countless numbers of high school graduates are repeatedly told that they can't do anything today without a college degree. The result? As the number of awarded college degrees increases, their true value becomes increasingly diluted.
In the meantime, we as a nation fail to ask ourselves this key question: Which is of greater value to society: a mediocre lawyer or an excellent plumber?

Posted By: Thomas J. Coyne, Ph.D. (9:41am 11-19-2008)
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Financial management of WVU is one of the easier tasks of its President.

The financing of WVU is a so-called "zero sums" game. Government wants only a specified amount of money for WVU! Tuitions and/or donations from non-government sources reduces what governemt pays.

This zero sums game is a foolish, unnecessary exercise; worse yet, "zero sums" is misunderstood by students, faculty, taxpayers and lawmakers alike.

The President of WVU must function with dignity, discipline. S/he must exhibit ethical behavior, honesty, honor, integrity, and above all else, truthfulness: minimum standards of excellence necessary for a nation, its leaders, and its citizenry to foster and support if greatness is to be gained, and maintained.

Does WVU aspire to greatness? How can one teil? (Financing is always easier when education of quality is evident)!

No school is on top if its leadership is not!

Thomas J. Coyne, Ph.D.,
(Financial Economist)
www.coyne-assoc.com

Posted By: Joe6Pk (9:13am 11-19-2008)
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Freeze tuition! Hah! Fat Chance! Try asking faculty and staff to accept a wage freeze to make that possible and see what happens. Something else is going to have to freeze over first.

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