Enterprise story — College Tuition
Students today are more concerned than ever before with how they’re going to pay for their college education. A 2012 report from the institute for College Access and Success says that 71% of all students graduating from four year colleges had student loan debt.
Many of these students are wondering where their money is going and just how their tuition is getting set at their university.
Freshman biology major, Shelbi Netzband, is paying for her tuition by taking out student loans. She said, “I’m doing the majority of this by myself, my parents aren’t able to help me so I work and go to school which makes things more difficult but it’s worth it for where a college degree could take me someday.”
According to the Institutional Research Fifteenth Day Enrollment Statistics, Kent State University recorded overall total of 30,167 students in the Fall of 2017. There is an undergraduate enrollment of 23,684 students and a total of 6,483 graduate students.
The current cost of tuition for in-state residents is $10,012 and for non-Ohio residents it stands at $18,544. These costs are based on the 12–18 semester hours, which is one academic year and two semesters for a full-time student.
Tuition is what colleges charge for the instruction they provide, according to College Data. There are many different factors that come into college tuition and how it gets set. Tuition can vary by major and there are also different fees and charges that are imputed in it.
Room and board is one of the biggest factors that plays a role in college tuition, depending on where a student decides to live and how much that costs, factors into the amount they pay. Books and school supplies also factor into this. According to College Data the College Board reports that the average cost for books and supplies for the 2017–2018 school year was $1,250 at public colleges.
Sophomore Residents Assistant, Macy Kittelberger, said, “Room and board is a big factor into what students pay for college and personally if I wasn’t a resident’s assistance, I wouldn’t have been able to afford housing at Kent.”
Residents assistance get free room and board at most universities which is a reason a lot of students sign up to be an RA.
There are other ways to help students pay tuition in college such as; grants and financial aid which is offered to many students in the US every year but not every student is offered this.
For students who are trying to save as much as they can, “Got 15?” is something to believe in. It’s a formula promoted by most colleges in the US made to encourage students to complete their degree on time. The benefits of completing at least 15 credit hours per semester saves time and money. If implemented correctly students will find themselves saving time and money.
First year nursing student, Tessa George said, “Got 15 is something they stress a lot about at DKS (Destination Kent State) and I personally have been trying hard to follow it, because as a nursing student I want to be able to keep on track with my credit hours so I don’t end up paying more than I need to in the end.”
Kent State has plans set in place to help those students who can’t afford tuition right away. Kent State offers monthly payment plan options through Tuition Management Systems. It is an alternative to large annual or term payments and helps limit borrowing.
The university recently announced their New Tuition Guarantee. Beginning with the Fall 2018 academic year, Kent State will offer all eligible new first-year undergraduate and transfer students the certainty that the Ohio resident tuition rate, career services fee, as well as room and board plan charges will not increase for their applicable cohort rate.
The new Tuition Guarantee plan does not affect the graduating class of 2021 because they were already enrolled as freshman after this was put into place.
Netzband said, “I think that if tuition ever did increase, that this plan would have been something nice to reassure me that my costs were going to stay the same in the next few years, but unfortunately that’s not the case for me as I am already a freshman this year.”
The Tuition Guarantee plan on Kent State’s website explains further that, for new, in-state freshmen enrolling in the 2018 Fall Semester, their tuition will be frozen for four years at $5,306 per semester for 12–18 credit hours. The cost of a standard two-person room and basic meal plan also will be locked in at $5,681 per semester.
Director of External Media Relations, Kristin Anderson, said, “Aside from what most people think, tuition at Kent State does not increase every year. Kent State alone does not have the power to raise tuition outside the boundaries of the state of Ohio and Kent State’s Board of Trustees.”
According to Ohio Higher Education, Affordability and Efficiency, tuition is set in alignment with the state of Ohio’s college affordability measures encouraged by state policymakers.
Kent State University’s Board of Trustees website explains that, the most recent state budget, 2018–19, does not provide for tuition and other fee increases for in-state, undergraduate students. Operating within these state parameters, the Kent State University Board of Trustees must approve changes in tuition. The Board has not raised in-state, undergraduate tuition since 2014.
Anderson said, “With that in mind, the Board approved rates for a Tuition Guarantee plan that will provide incoming students and their families certainty in budgeting for college costs. Kent State’s Tuition Guarantee freezes undergraduate tuition, mandatory fees, and room and board rates for a four-year period for each group of degree-seeking students that begin at any of the Kent State campuses this fall.”
Clearly there’s a lot that factors into tuition, Kent State’s Strategic Roadmap is used as a foundation for decision making.
“This roadmap makes students the number one priority,” Anderson said.
The roadmap can be found on Kent State’s website and starts with the students as first priority. Priority two is a “Distinctive Kent State”, it then follows a specific decision-making layout for other aspects of the University’s needs.
Anderson is a firm believer in the qualities Kent State has to offer and said, “Kent State is unique in its mission to help students find their purpose, and to become a better version of themselves. We believe it’s not just about what you’ll do after graduation, it’s about your journey to get there.”
