Tuition raise necessary

Early this summer, the University announced that with the start of the 2003-2004 academic year it would increase tuition $1,000 for incoming freshmen as part of a "commitment to excellence." There is also a tuition increase for students at IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis and IU's regional campuses. The money will be used to pay faculty salaries, undergraduate financial aid and graduate fellowships.\nIt is high time to applaud the University. The tuition increase is necessary and IU acted responsibly announcing it early, months before senior high school students applied to college. \nIn 1988, 68 percent of student's tuition costs were paid for by the state, according to a University press release, and in 2001 the state only produced 53 percent of the costs. With tightened federal and state budgets, the University has made clear it is not waiting for the state to act. \nIn recent years there has been much talk on this campus among faculty that IU is not committed to keeping its best and attracting the brightest. In five years, IU expects to have hired 100 new faculty members and have $3.9 million more for financial aid at its disposal, thanks to the increase. This is a positive step to addressing such concerns.\nThe University also hopes that by being able to retain its best and attract other talented professors it will be able to help the financial plight of the state. IU brings in more than $300 million for research and development each year, according to the same release. New faculty will do more research and bring in more money, benefitting both IU and the state of Indiana.\nOf course no one likes to pay a lot for education, but as price levels naturally increase over time and government's priorities change, public institutions must react. IU didn't throw a curveball to the student body and announce that everyone will have to pay an additional $1,000. The costs will go to new students, who now know they will be paying more to attend IU -- and hopefully receiving more.\nIn addition, a significant amount of money will go to help students who cannot alone afford the cost of an IU education so they can benefit from attending an institution rich with tradition and a faculty committed to excellence.\nIU is certainly not acting alone by increasing tuition. Freshmen entering Purdue University, the University of Illinois and Ohio State University all will have to pay more for the exact same reasons. If IU stands by and does nothing we will lose the competition for great faculty to other schools.\n