Editor,
I am writing in response to the recent decision to raise tuition 6.11 percent next year.
It needs to be understood that although most students and parents dislike the idea of annual tuition increases, the rise in tuition is actually very necessary for the well-being of our University. Increases are needed in order to keep schools up-to-date with technology and labor costs - otherwise, the University may suffer.
To hope or even assume that college tuition will not rise every year is foolish. While new technology keeps developing and general prices keep rising, increases in tuition are inevitable.
The sound of tuition rising sounds scary to parents and students who are paying thousands already for an education, but even though sticker prices for colleges keep going up, that doesn't mean that every student and parent will have to pay the full fare.
In fact, most students don't pay the retail price for college - they pay a discounted rate, thanks to financial aid packages, which have kept pace pretty well with tuition increases.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
When grants and other non-loan student aid are factored in, the net cost of college - what students and their parents actually paid for students to be educated - rose less than 5 percent for most students between the 1992-93 school year and 1999-2000, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
In conclusion, the 6.11 percent increase in tuition will be very helpful in keeping UNM one of the better universities in the country.
UNM needs to keep raising tuition as needed in order to keep up with the rest of the world. With higher-paying salaries, better professors will be willing to come teach here. And by keeping our library up to date with the best journals and books and by keeping up with today's fast-paced technology, we will maintain our prestige as a university.
Rachel Woods
UNM student
