Utah likes to tout that it is a good place for business. It has a highly educated workforce willing to work for peanuts when compared to other states.
That workforce is in very real danger, and it is up to the students to help the Utah government make a change.
Sometime, after the legislative session is over, but just before the Board of Regents makes its final decision, someone at Salt Lake Community College will hold a “Truth in Tuition” session.
In the past, now Interim President Deneece Huftalin has been the one to break down for students how the tuition process works (or doesn’t work) and to tell them what the expected increase could be – anywhere from zero percent, which is tremendously unlikely, to eight or nine percent, which is also unlikely, but some schools have seen increases greater than that in a single year.
Students need to be proactive now to prevent the coming increase. By contacting legislative representatives and the governor, we can express our opinion about the high cost of college tuition and college in general. If enough of us call, and those political representatives decide that there will be consequences if the tuition to college increases, we could see no increase in our tuition for the next year.
Tuition and fees for the 2000-2001 school year for 12 to 18 credits was $818. They have more than doubled since then.
However, as long as tuition continues to rise, that workforce may find itself becoming less educated.
Students need a break today, so that the governor can continue to talk about what a good place for business Utah is and will be in the future.
