Stan Geiger

Good Deal or Scam?

Here's an interesting post from Green Country Values:

Tuition is probably going up this year at OSU…that’s not a surprise. What is interesting is that the university, according to it’s student-operated newspaper, is offering students the option to pay more now (15%) to lock in that rate for the next three years.

Is this more like futures trading, or gambling? You decide.

Judging from news reports, I don't think there is any "probably" about it. Relative to the end question put, I'd say there is a little of both involved. But there is a greater question to be asked: Is there a grand opportunity here for the university to screw people?

A recent KTUL report on the matter said the average full-time student would pay $6,200 for the coming academic year. Hence, a 15 percent premium is no small number. It comes to $930.

So, a student coughs up an extra grand for the university. Then what happens? Any number of things are possible.

If the university continues to follow the pattern of the past couple of decades, tuition might well go up every year for the next three. But then again...

Though largely to deaf ears, I have been screaming about the constant uptrend in tuition for years. But I think the educators may have finally pushed things far enough to get people's attention. The educators, in other words, might be looking ahead to public pressure putting an end to annual tuition hikes.

If a student paid the premium this year and tuition stayed flat for the next three, definite screw job. The university, meanwhile, would come out in good shape. It would get to keep the extra grand.

Then there is the dropout factor. I recall reading statistics from my days at OSU, back in the '70s. In rough numbers, there were 20,000 students in Stillwater. Of that number, about half were freshmen. Very clearly, there are a lot of students that bop off to universities for a year then leave and never go back. I recall a number of my high school classmates that accompanied me to Stillwater that did that very thing. My first roommate, in fact, left after one semester.

If freshmen jump on the 15 percent deal then decide college isn't the place for them and go home for good, definite screw job. The university, however, comes out in good shape. It gets to pocket the extra cash.

Then there is the fact that life happens. Many students ultimately get a bachelor's degree, but it takes a while. Things come up that interrupt the process. Such was the case with me.

I arrived in Stillwater in the fall of 1976. As noted, a number of my high school friends went as well. I was all excited and full of beans. Unfortunately, I also came down with a bad case of freshmanitis. In other words, I spent more time in bars and in the sack than I spent going to class and studying. Naturally, from an academic standpoint, my first year did not go well.

I went home for the summer. During that time, my high school love broke up with me. I was heartbroken, of course. I recall seeing Billy Graham on TV once, talking about his longtime wife and how wonderful life with her had been. But he spoke of having to leave his first love in order to follow what he felt was God's lead. He said it hurt. He said, "It may have been puppy love, but it was real to the puppy."

I guess most folks have been there at one time or another.

Anyway, when year two rolled around I wasn't in the best state of mind. I had lost my babe, and many of my old pals didn't return after year one. It wasn't the same. The beginning of year two brought with it no excitement. Returning to Stillwater in the fall of '77 was more of a task, something I did just because. My performance as a student improved a wee bit. Not much, mind you, just enough to keep me from getting kicked out. But my heart wasn't in it.

Beyond that, I reckon I was a little tired. For as long as I could remember I had sat in classrooms and taken tests. I was burned out. I needed a break.

Me sainted mum wasn't happy with me. She challenged me to make a decision. Did I want to go to college or not. If not, I was just wasting time and money. I figured she made a good point.

I didn't go back for year three. I stayed home, worked a job and took a class or two at the local junior college. In the event that I returned to Stillwater, I reasoned, the hours would transfer.

After about an 18-month layoff, and a lot of reflection, I decided quitting was a bad habit to get into. I had started and I wanted to finish. I still wasn't all that enthused, but I returned to OSU and stayed until I closed the deal.

The point here is, not everybody enrolls and makes a continuous 4-year run. I laid out my personal experience, but other things could happen. It is certainly easy to imagine a student running out of money these days and having to take some time off. Maybe mom or dad passes away while a youngster is in school, prompting a layoff.

And don't forget about transfers. A student might enroll at OSU initially but then decide he or she would rather go to TU, for example.

If a student signs up for the deal, and ups the extra grand, then takes some time off or transfers to another school, definite screw job. No problem for OSU, though.

Tuition futures? Gambling? Well, sort of. But I'd say it's just another educator scam. While I acknowledge an individual here and there might benefit, on balance it's a scam.

I advise people to avoid the offer, and instead bring pressure to bear on state government to put an end to the constant increase in the cost of higher education. A good start would be for you to tell your elected representatives you want the power to raise tuition and fees taken out of the hands of the unelected bureaucrats we call regents and put back in the hands of elected legislators.

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