Editorial Board
Laura Misjak
Kate Polesnak
Lindsey Poisson
James Harrison
Keiara Tenant
Whitney Gronski
Room rate hike needed, may make students flee
Money makes the world go round, and in the case of MSU students, it keeps the campus looking up-to-date.
The MSU Board of Trustees recently voted to raise room and board rates by 5.25 percent effective by the next academic year. Incoming and returning students can expect to see a price increase of $350, which means it will cost about $7,026 each year for a double room and an unlimited meal plan.
The rate for university apartments also will increase by 5.25 percent. A one-bedroom apartment is expected to cost $635 instead of the current $630 and a two-bedroom apartment will increase from $699 to $735 per month.
That extra funding will not only help pay for day-to-day dorm operations, but it also will go toward select residence hall improvements and upgrades — including the infrastructural systems, elevator installation, new room furnishings and reducing asbestos.
It is understandable that the university would raise room and board rates to improve dorm conditions, but is placing a new coffee shop in Holden Hall — one of many residence hall projects in the works — really necessary when there’s one conveniently located down the road in Case Hall?
Although MSU’s room and board cost for the fall is the lowest of all the Big Ten universities and one of the lowest in Michigan, it doesn’t erase the fact that it’s costly.
A $350 price hike might not seem like much, but when factoring in previous rate increases and tuition — the board will determine that this summer — it adds up quickly.
It’s going to be a continuing trend. Since the cost of living is going up with higher gas and food prices, students should expect to pay more tuition in coming years.
When this happens, prospective students might prefer other options to save money.
Community colleges are more appealing to some students because they don’t have to live on campus and classes are a lot cheaper than at universities. Many community colleges in Michigan offer decent — sometimes exceptional — programs and courses, and are becoming a more popular alternative to a four-year university education.
Or, just forget Michigan altogether. If out-of-state costs at non-Michigan universities are lower than in-state fees, we might see masses of students migrating away from the Great Lakes.
Students who attend a university with increasing housing prices may even consider commuting to save money. Even with high gas prices, the cost of renting an off-campus apartment, buying your own food and having to drive to campus is potentially cheaper than paying the more than $7,000 to live on campus. This goes against the real dorm life, college experience universities often try to create.
Every year, students are dishing out more cash to attend college and it’s beginning to take a toll on their pocketbooks.
If the university continues on its money-hungry binge, students could lose the motivation to go to college for fear of being gouged.
Published on Sunday, April 20, 2008
Comments
Mike S.
04/21/08 @ 7:38am
“out-of-state costs at non-Michigan univerities are lower than in-state fees”
Where is this? There are universities of the size and caliber of MSU that offer lower tuition and fees for out of state students than the in-state rate of Michigan?
My god, SN…do your research before you make up spurious claims like that.
Nick K.
04/21/08 @ 7:39am
For those students that haven’t looked in a while, out of state tutition ANYWHERE is expensive. The fact that (1) MSU has one of the lowest tutitions in the Big Ten and (2) MSU has one of the lowest housing rates in the Big Ten tell alot. It is expensive to go anywhere. I remember when I was looking for schools about 10 years ago, MSU, out of state tutition + the dorm was cheaper than my in-state Big Ten university with room and board. This, coupled with one of the better cafeteria systems in the nation, lead to an excellent choice.
Agent5
04/21/08 @ 8:35am
“If the university continues on its money-hungry binge, students could lose the motivation to go to college for fear of being gouged.”
If a $350 increase is going to prevent one from going to college and making an extra 20-80K per year (depending on major) than they would with a mere high school diploma, such a person should probably retake a math course prior to enrolling for college.
I’d also like to see the State News math comparing on-campus housing with off-campus housing. $7026 sounds huge until you realize that this includes all utilities except long distance and includes unlimited food. Assuming a 9-month lease, you’d have to get your total costs below $800 a month to match the on-campus housing. With a share of rent at $400, share of utilities (electric, gas, cable, water, local phone – all included on campus) at $200, and groceries at $200, that’s going to be pretty tough to do.
Townsend
04/21/08 @ 10:25am
I hear you guys. The State News are such a bunch of whining crybabies it makes you sick. Why not turn MSU into a community college and charge no tuition… maybe then, the State News would think things are “fair” even though a could chunk of students here are from upper middle class suburbs of Detroit and Chicago… Poor little MSU students. Just when the big bad cops beat up on them and make them riot at Cedar Fest, MSU lowest-in-the Big 10 housing rates (even w/ the increase) rape student wallets…. It’s all sooooo unfair… waa, waa, waa!!!... give the State News a bottle of mother’s milk.
GPM
04/21/08 @ 1:32pm
From the sounds of it, none of you guys had to pay for your own college education, apartments, gas or food. Anyone who has to pay for those things themselves certainly feels the crunch now. And they most definitely wouldn’t been defending everything being more expensive.
Fredrik
04/21/08 @ 1:53pm
GPM makes the point to consider!
Jacob
04/21/08 @ 2:09pm
How about they take the extra $350 out of over-bloated professor and administration staff salaries. The value of an educated society far outweighs any needs of employee making more than $100,000 per year.
The problem with most administration systems is that they charge from the bottom up. Taxes as well as tuition should be the burden of the advantaged in society. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet set an excellent example by donating their money to charity at death; however, all of rich society should be forced to do this.
Every year you hear pundits and intelligent speakers say that everyone should go to college- it benefits themselves and others. Yet, as a society, we keep screwing over people. President Simon is a great example- she has so much money she should work for free- she still takes in over a hundred thousand dollars every year though. MSU is full of greed.
Lenin
04/21/08 @ 3:05pm
I agree with Jacob. Everyone should make the same amount of money and go to the same school and get the same education.
Ha Ha HA HA HA HA HA
04/21/08 @ 3:28pm
Jacob,
Reading your hippie garbage has made me a little dumber. Nonetheless, I still find peace in the fact that I am smarter than you. And Lenin, you are simply brilliant.
Yours Truely,
An evil capitalist pig.
Jacob
04/21/08 @ 3:29pm
Lenin,
That’s actually not what I was saying. I was simply stating that the extreme greed that the rich possess detriments society more than people think. I would be all for a wage system with structured tiers of incentive- but with a wage maximum. There is no one in society who should make more than $400,000 per year. They simply don’t provide enough value to society.
Further, since money is limited, the more one person makes, the less the rest of us make. American capitalism simply states that if people earned it they deserve it, but more often than not, the poor beget the poor and the powerful beget the powerful. Just because one poorly designed system of facism and socialism- ie communism- didn’t work, doesn’t mean that all of the tenets of socialism are bad. IN fact, the same plagues that destroyed communism- the inability for the powerful to give up power- are destroying capitalism and many other systems of government. (Though there are certainly other faults with communism).
The people in power have so indoctrinated you with the concept that socialism is evil, yet more and more society demands socialistic policies- welfare, minimum wage, social security, job security, pension, etc… And what’s even funnier, if you look at most other attempts at raw capitalism- they all fail- including America during the depression. The powerful need the most rules and restrictions- that’s why the financial sector is the most heavily regulated industry.
Ha Ha HA HA HA HA HA
04/21/08 @ 3:32pm
Jacob,
Thanks for adding to my education; “the more one person makes, the less the rest of us make.” That is a hell of a way to look at it, but instead of trying to take a piece of everyone else’s pie, how about you make your own? Now, take off your Che Gueverra t-shirt, and take a shower.
Jacob
04/21/08 @ 4:10pm
Hahaha,
Thanks for adding to my education by stereotyping me as a Che Gueverra wearing, unclean communist. Yet, I’m neither of those. Maybe you should talk to a RESA aide and learn about why statistically projecting an entire population based upon a finite non-random sample usually leads to error- or otherwise why racism is bad. And, in general, so is most stereotyping- after all, the average doesn’t describe every member of a population or an argument.
And, to be fair, I didn’t argue that the piece of pie taken from the rich should be given to me- I said it should be given to those in need. Oh wait, charity- yeah I remember that Christian value (though certainly not originated or exclusive to Abrahamic religions) that Christ, Ghandi, Buddha, and many other great thinkers valued so much.
Maybe if you had gotten a better education you would be able to better argue even the simplest of points on a silly campus newspaper message board. But your comments don’t hurt me- they devalue the concept of intellectualism and rational discussion by resorting to furvent noise that comes to no end unless society agrees to move on and think a little. How does this happen- when the powerful give up a little power.
Em Ketterer
04/22/08 @ 10:13am
Agent5… your math is pretty silly. Getting ALL of your housing costs under $800 is very, very possible.
I live in a COOP (!!!!) one quick block from campus. I have an enormous room with its own entrance; access to an enormous, gorgeous kitchen; a new bathroom; hardwood floors; and, most important to me, NO room mate! I pay $489/month and that INCLUDES unlimited pantry of health and delicious food (including organic eggs, soymilk, regular milk, vegetables, fruits, etc), 5 dinners a week, and ALL of the utilities.
And, I don’t have campus staff breathing down my neck.
HA!
MOVE OFF CAMPUS EVERYONE!!!!
Agent5
04/22/08 @ 12:58pm
“Agent5… your math is pretty silly. Getting ALL of your housing costs under $800 is very, very possible.”
Woot! Congrats, you’re one datapoint in a few thousand off-campus students. Do you speak for everyone? Sounds like you have a pretty sweet deal – are you assuming that it is what the typical off-campus student has for housing?
My friends, family that have already been here and gone, and friends currently here all pay more than $800 per month for living expenses. My math is based off of my own costs, so it’s no more silly than yours.
Mark
04/23/08 @ 2:01pm
Jacob,
You seem to have little understanding of economics. The “pie” is not a fixed amount of wealth. It can increase and decrease, thats called the GDP, and it changes. It is idiotic to believe as Gordon Geko in the movie Wall Street, that the markets are a zero sum game, for every winner theres a looser. Bill gates and others developed new companies and increased the “pie”. How is it goverment should have authority to decide what a persons value to the company or the the univesity is. That is left up to the stockholders of the company, or the board of the University. Now get back to your working on your humanities degree.
Agent5 sounds dumb
04/23/08 @ 3:47pm
“Sounds like you have a pretty sweet deal”
and so can you, idiot. all you have to do is LOOK for it! i live in haslett arms by jimmy johns for 390/month…which includes all utilities. add on $400 per month for food (if you’re 500lbs) and you STILL come out on top.
they are right
04/24/08 @ 9:01am
“out-of-state costs at non-Michigan univerities are lower than in-state fees”
check out west, or florida — should have looked into this before going to MSU
Getmoney
05/02/08 @ 9:11am
You all seem surprised that they are raising housing rates. Turn on the news, prices for food and gas are through the roof. The State News does have a history of complaining, maybe everyone at the State News should consider Community College. They seem to be fond of it.