No students attend teleconference at Ed School

No students turned out for the tuition teleconference Tuesday, which officials thought would spark dialogue among the student body.\nEleven individuals attended the event in Bloomington, including IU-Bloomington Interim Chancellor Ken Gros Lois, Vice Chancellor for Budgeting and Administration Neil Theobald, Dean of Students Richard McKaig and other campus administrators.\nWhile Tony Kingsolver, IU-South Bend's student body president, was outspoken in presenting his issues with the tuition cap, IU's flagship campus outlined no objections to the proposed increase at the teleconference.\n"Student apathy hurts," said IU Student Association President Casey Cox, who attended the forum in person at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis. "It always does. The student leaders are trying our hardest to speak out and let trustees know the concerns of students in Bloomington. I absolutely challenge the student body to become engaged and involved. Because, in the end, students have to take it upon themselves to become interested."\nOne reason for the poor turnout may be the time of the conference, Cox said. Many students have classes from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, the time the teleconference was scheduled.\n"I myself missed two classes, and even then, I was 45 minutes late because I went to a class I had to go to," Cox said. "But I don't think that there were any malicious intentions on the administration's part to avoid student input. This was the first inaugural forum of its kind, and there are still mistakes to be worked out. I'll definitely bring it up with the administration next time I talk to them."\nTheobald said he believed the topic of this forum wasn't a hot issue for students and, therefore, they didn't feel the need to voice concerns. The proposed 4 percent increase in tuition and mandatory fees was not excessive, he said. The tuition increase includes a proposed $30 increase in mandatory student fees, including a $15 athletic fee. \n"When you look at how much more money people with a college education make, many students and their parents don't seem to mind the high cost of tuition. It is necessary," Theobald said.\nMcKaig said he anticipates mounting interest as the issue becomes more widespread.\n"I believe students will have a greater interest once they learn these facts that are proposed," he said. "It should spark some great conversation among the students, and they can let the trustees know in April."\nOverall, reactions to the forum's availability for participation were positively received. Representatives from all eight of the IU campuses were in attendance, including IU-Purdue University in Fort Wayne, whose administration is run by Purdue. Bill Stephan, IU's vice president for public affairs and government relation, fielded questions via live video feed and electronic questions via the Internet.\n"(The) interactive video feed is a great tool for University meetings, conferences and classes," said Steve Schunk, associate director of system administration for the School of Education. "The University has literally dozens of these conferences a day, connecting anywhere from two to 10 sites."\nCox had other concerns about the tuition increase that were not broached in the forum. Much of them include the costs in the rising rate of pay for faculty and concern that IU is hiring more faculty than necessary.\n"If adjustments are made that will compromise the quality of education (to bring down or raise costs), then the adjustments are futile," Cox said. "The education of the students is key."\nOther issues to be discussed include the proposed newspaper readership program fee, as well as a proposed rise in transportation costs.\n"These are definitely some things I will talk to the trustees about soon," Cox said. "We need to have a discussion about priorities."\n-- Contact staff writer Andrew Welfle at awelfle@indiana.edu.