Fixed rate bachelor’s degrees are unrealistic
A $10,000 degree would significantly reduce the out-of-pocket cost, as well as loans for all students. The deal seems too good to be true. And it might be.
Katherine Johnson
Staff Columnist
As a college student, I hear daily complaints about the cost of something school related, whether it be tuition, textbooks or meal plans. At times, it seems never ending.
To help reduce this financial strain on college students, Florida Gov. Rick Scott has proposed that all public universities in the state offer bachelor degrees for a fixed cost of $10,000. All of Florida’s public universities have taken on their governor’s challenge.
A $10,000 degree would significantly reduce the out-of-pocket cost, as well as loans for all students. The deal seems too good to be true. And it might be.
If Scott’s plan were to work, each student graduating in four years would only be paying $2,500 a year. At VCU, the tuition and fees for the 2012-2013 academic year are close to $5,000 a semester for an in-state, full-time student who’s a Virginia resident. If Florida’s program is successful, VCU students will still be paying almost $10,000 a year (including fees and other living expenses), while Florida students will have their entire bachelor’s degree for close to the same price.
Although the Florida universities have accepted the plan, it’s unclear as to how they’ll make it happen. No official information regarding the implementation of the plan is available from Florida’s government sites. Scott has approved a $300 million cut to Florida universities, as well as implementing a limit on tuition increases, according to the Huffington Post.
The New York Times reported that since 2008, Florida’s education spending has decreased 24 percent. In addition, tuition has continued to increase for students, with Florida’s public universities increasing their tuition by 15 percent each year.
In order to make Scott’s plan a reality, the Florida state government would also have to pass a law that would allow schools to charge students differently based on their degree. Students majoring in the arts, or any other major that isn’t related to math or science, would end up paying more for school, according to The Atlantic. Essentially, Florida is trying to bribe students into more marketable majors.
Students would celebrate an opportunity to finish their education for $10,000, as many students owe more than that in loans when they graduate. The University of Florida has close to 33,000 undergraduate students that would participate in Scott’s plan. But it’s hard to think a school similar in size to VCU could run on just $10,000 from each of their students.
Universities and their students should question where other cuts would be made. Every student pays a different amount based on their financial aid, so will some students be forced to pay more than they normally would? If it were level across the board for all students, some may be significantly under or overpaying what they can afford.
It’s essential to look into the breakdown of the numbers, before any university accepts what seems like an impossible task. Students should consider what else might be cut with the decreased price of a degree. This could include the number of professors, classes offered and equipment and technology necessary for students in majors from arts to sciences.
For the 2013 fiscal year, VCU is expected to earn about $920 million, 40 percent of this money comes from tuition and fees. This breakdown shows that it’s unrealistic for VCU to only charge a student $10,000 for their education, especially with the university’s desired growth.
The proposed program is only successful in showing the flaws in Scott’s plan. Four-year institutions like VCU can’t afford to both sell students $10,000 degrees and maintain their current level of prestige.
