Playing the tuition hike again

The best-case scenario: Pitt tuition will rise by about 5 percent next fall.

But don’t look… The best-case scenario: Pitt tuition will rise by about 5 percent next fall.

But don’t look so surprised, you had to see that coming. And the 5-percent increase – though reflective of a deeply troublesome national trend in the last few decades – seems about par for colleges across the country.

But this yearly ordeal will become much more concerning if Pennsylvania doesn’t do everything the University asks of it. Last year, when the state reduced Pitt’s appropriation by 3.7 percent, the loss in funds translated to a 14-percent increase for in-state students. The result was a considerable net gain for the University over last year’s revenues.

So this year, the University ought to consider developing contingency plans that are more thoughtful than “pass the bill along to students.” When hard times call for hefty tuition increases such as last year, they also need to call for conservative corporate spending and administrative salary increases.

In the meantime, Pitt can also begin considering a fundamental change in the way scholarship funds are distributed. The standard $1,000-per-year scholarship that many students receive while studying here means less and less every time tuition jumps by a double-digit percentage.

Therefore, as Pitt takes more money into its coffers by increasing tuition, it ought to invest more money in its financially strapped students by increasing their scholarships by the same hefty percentage.

Although it would certainly be a great surprise, most students don’t reasonably expect Pitt to buck national trends by keeping tuition the same, or even reducing it. But this ever-improving University must take heed: The increases are nearly out of control. If next year’s increase for out-of-state students is the minimum 5 percent, their yearly tuition will be more than $17,500.

Pitt is becoming a great school. Its academics are certainly improving. But asking an out-of-state student to pay that amount – not to mention room, board and books – is pushing Pitt’s reputation to the limits.

So when it sets next year’s tuition, the Board of Trustees needs to acknowledge that the only ivy here is attached to the exterior of the Cathedral of Learning. Pitt administrators need to recognize that $1,000-per-year scholarships don’t mean much anymore. And Pitt students need to acknowledge that this is partly their fault – legislators just aren’t inclined to funnel money toward a population of apathetic nonvoters.