http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-tuition-web-27mar27,0,5136278.story
For the first time, new undergraduates at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign this fall will have to shell out more than $20,000 to attend the state’s flagship university.
The cost—the highest for any public school in the state—includes nearly $12,000 in base tuition and fees and more than $8,000 in room and board. The university’s Board of Trustees approved the increase Wednesday. Tuition for the typical new freshman will increase 9.5 percent to $9,242, an amount guaranteed for four years.
It looks like we got out of there just in time. Here’s my favorite part:
Engineering and business students will pay $4,152 more.
To add a completely ridiculous cherry to the top of this sundae, by my experiences, financial aid awards have declined over the past 5 years. So in summation, here’s what they are saying: “We’re making it more expensive for you to go to college, but don’t worry, because we’re giving you less help to pay for it.”
March 27th, 2008 at 11:51 am
i was admittedly a little bit worried. but then they told me not to worry there at the end, so it’s all good.
in all seriousness, though, the cost of “higher education” is getting pretty ridiculous. blah, blah, blah, it’s a privilege and all that… whatever. i think as a society we should encourage people to go to college as much as possible (without dumbing it down), and putting its cost out of the reach of the average person certainly isn’t the right starting point.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Agreed completely. I like this quote from The West Wing.
“Education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don’t need little changes. We need gigantic revolutionary changes. Schools should be palaces. Competition for the best teachers should be fierce. They should be getting six-figure salaries. Schools should be incredibly expensive for government and absolutely free of charge for its citizens, just like national defense. That is my position. I just haven’t figured out how to do it yet.”