State Funding Goes Down, Tuition Goes Up

by Katie LaMaster

As one would expect in a time of recession, tuition at the College of Charleston is increasing for the upcoming academic year. The Board of Trustees voted Monday on a tuition increase of $1,326 for undergraduates in 2010-2011.

Undergraduate tuition will be $10,314 for in-state students and $23,172 for out-of-state students. The addition to tuition costs amounts to a 14.75 percent increase for undergraduates who are South Carolina residents and a 6.07 percent for those from outside of the state.

Offsetting substantial state budget cuts was stated as the main reason for the increase. The past two years have seen a reduction in state support of $16.1 million. In 2010-2011, less than nine percent of the College’s operating budget will come from the state.

The school has tried to offset some of the losses through a variety of cost cutting measures. Measures include cutting non-essential programs, eliminating vacant faculty and staff positions, deferring certain technology replacements and consolidating campus multimedia and technology functions.

Another reason for the raise in tuition was the cost of maintaining the quality of the education provided at the College of Charleston. President George Benson said, “The College must have the ability to support academic and campus life initiatives” and that “without sufficient resources, the College cannot fully realize its potential, nor can it meet the needs of students.”

Although students are not happy to hear about a raise in tuition, some understand that it is necessary. Out-of-state student Tiffany Kingston thinks that the increase is understandable, but she is “disappointed that the bad economy is taking a toll on education.” Kingston said that she would have to take out larger student loans to pay for next year’s tuition.

In-state student Harrison Chapman also understands the Board’s decision. The rising senior pays his own tuition, and he hopes that the money will go towards better resources and larger budgets for teachers. Although the cost of tuition is rising by a much higher percent for in-state students Chapman is not complaining. He is willing to pay more because he enjoys meeting people from all over the country and world. “I like that we have a diverse student body. It makes us unique,” he said.

Both students feel that the increase in tuition is going to affect the number of applications the College will receive in the next year. They expect many in-state students to turn to less expensive schools, and for out-of-state students to look closer to home. The College hopes to avoid this by putting $3 million of the revenue from the tuition towards financial aid.

Tuition for The Graduate School of the College of Charleston was also raised. All graduate students, in-state and out-of-state, will see an increase of $1,460 in tuition costs for 2010-2011.

Few other South Carolina schools have yet to announce tuition increases. Coastal Carolina has increased in-state tuition by 4.92 percent and out-of-state tuition by 7.99 percent. Clemson has not announced their 2010-2011 tuition. Teresa Hopkins, Public Information Director for Business and Behavioral Science and Academic Affairs at Clemson, said that the decision would be made later in the summer and she had no ideas as to whether or not the tuition would increase. The University of South Carolina has also yet to announce the upcoming year’s tuition.

The tuition costs were voted on at the Board of Trustee’s meeting at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia on June 7. The Office of Media Relations at the College was not eager to answer questions regarding the decision, however the Post and Courier reported that at least one trustee was against such a high increase for in-state students.

The College announced the new tuition costs in a media release posted to the school’s website Monday afternoon. All students were e-mailed a copy of an Op-Ed co-written by Chair of the Board of Trustees, Marie Land, and President, George Benson. The article was published in Tuesday’s Post and Courier.