The era of affordability at the university is over.
Years of improvement marked by continual in-state tuition freezes and increased financial aid made affordability and accessibility cornerstones of the university. State leaders, led by Gov. Martin O’Malley, recognized the need to invest in higher education and expand opportunities for more families and rewarded the university system with its first dedicated source of revenue. This hard-fought progress is being eroded if not reversed with little fanfare or outrage.
University President Dan Mote may want to publicly cling to his optimism and hope during these trying times, but it seems more like smoke and mirrors. Budget cuts this academic year will result in furloughs, a hiring freeze and severe cuts in student services.
Construction and renovation projects may be delayed even longer, academic quality may temporarily suffer, plans for expansion may be put back in the drawer and a number of beloved programs may find themselves on the chopping block.
The administration decided to forego mid-year tuition increases, but has already begun a process to aggressively increase tuition and fees next year.
It is not egregious that revenue has to be raised. The university cannot be expected to have one hand tied behind its back while it tries to tackle this crisis, and it is unreasonable to expect that enough spending can be cut and enough saving can be found to get the university out of this deep hole.
What is contemptible is how and why the university is raising money. The mandatory fee recommendations are a harbinger of how the university intends to balance its books. The plan is for students and their parents to become the university’s cash cow and bear the brunt of the pain. Certain departments such as the Department of Transportation Services, the athletics department and Nyumburu Cultural Center decided to either return money to students or reduce expenditures enough to forego raising fees and burdening students. Others obviously felt the yoke was too easy.
Stamp Student Union, feeling the pain of a poor bookstore contract, needed an increase to maintain services. Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center desired to bring back programs that had been cut without raising ticket prices, so they opted for an increase for every student. Upgrading the wireless network to the standard that was just approved by the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers on Sept. 14 was on the wish list, so the Technology Fee was raised.
What is most disgraceful, however, is how new fees have been proposed to cover academic services normally funded through tuition. The much bemoaned shortfall in the libraries will be partly covered by a $100 library fee. The long-ignored decrepit conditions in some of the older academic buildings should be helped by the teaching facilities improvement fee. With these new revenue sources, what will tuition be used to pay for? It is unlikely that these fees will forestall a tuition hike, and every student should fear more fees used to cover basic services.
Students should be infuriated and offended by these disgraceful practices. They have to channel that anger and demand the university listen because no one will do it for them.
Student Government Association President Steve Glickman left the fee review meeting before a number of crucial votes that could have saved each student hundreds of dollars. E-mail President Mote (president@umd.edu) or organize a protest like students at Howard University did a few weeks ago. It is time to raise hell, not fees.
Matt Verghese is a graduate student in public policy. He can be reached at verghese at umdbk dot com.
