As college students, we know all too well the struggle of paying tuition, room and board and meal plans at a Big Ten university. Our complaints have made several top Yaks.
It’s expensive to go to college — many would say it’s too expensive.
Yet, prices continue rising around the University, costing students more of their hard-earned or loaned dollars.
Recently, the Board of Trustees, IU’s governing body, raised on-campus room and board rates for the 2015-2016 academic year.
And — surprise! — they’re ?increasing.
Here at IU-Bloomington, we have roughly 12,600 students living in ?residence halls or apartment housing.
The most common room and board package, described as a “standard” rate with a meal plan, costs $9,493.
Next year, it will increase by 3.2 ?percent, or $304.
The standard meal plan will also increase 1.6 percent, or $51, raising the overall price to $3,250.
The Editorial Board believes it’s important for students to know where their money is going toward and for what it is being used.
It’s important to remember RPS is an auxiliary department of the University, meaning it is under direction from the Board of Trustees, but is generally responsible for paying for projects it undergoes.
This is important because it means RPS is responsible for raising its rates in order to invest in future projects, such as renovating Read Residence Center, and to pay off past projects, such as Rose Residence Center.
Pair this with the fact that the University has a goal to renovate all residence halls by 2020 — in merely five years — and you have a recipe for ?consistently raising rates.
With these facts in mind, it’s significantly easier to view these room costs as investments in the future of the University and the campus.
Without raising the costs, it would be significantly harder — if not impossible — to update and fix what needs to be fixed in our residence halls.
IU also remains one of the less expensive places to live in the Big Ten, ?according to a data comparison made by Purdue University.
The University of Michigan is the most expensive university on the list, with a double room with a meal plan costing $10,050.
IU, by comparison, sits at No. 7 on the list costing $9,149 as of 2013.
Now, would the Editorial Board advocate for a plan that would allow renovations without passing the cost onto students who already can barely afford University housing?
Of course.
However, it’s clear IU isn’t raising the cost to just squeeze more money out of the masses.
We, as students, need to view these costs as investments in the future of the University we all love and adore so much.
It is simply not possible to make money without spending money, and if IU wants to continue to attract the best and brightest students in the world, it needs to continue progressing in the world marketplace.
For $304 a year, we think that’s a worthwhile investment.
