Are College/University Fees to High?
Do you think we overpay for our schooling? I and many
others do, the cost of an education these days is steadily increasing and fewer
people can afford to have a secondary education, not only can people not afford
the programs they are in, but the increase is leading to an enormous drop in
college/university applications as stated here in this article there were 15,000
“missing” applicants from this year’s total. The increase in fees aren't just
affecting Canada either it is a global affair, people are taking action and
everywhere in an attempt to change this issue.
““Last year, I paid
$5,787.29 for my undergraduate education at the University of Toronto. Is this
unreasonable? “The University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) thinks so. It
devotes much of its time and energy to demanding that U of T students pay
nothing. They argue education is a right, and claim it’s unfair to charge for
it.””
The statement shown is that of a Student of the
University of Toronto and the UTSU (University of Toronto Student Union). The
UTSU believes that our education is a right and unfair to charge for it, and I agree
with them, unfortunately there are flaws with their main idea, although the
general purpose is a well focused idea. There are many examples of our
overpaying for tuition and school uses I can relate personally, this year I began
my first semester of college and upon acceptance into the college I immediately
noticed a certain number of questionable fees. Most of these fees included in
the tuition are highly unreasonable, for example, I have to pay an extra 200
dollars for a bus pass that I will never use, I own my own vehicle but due to
the fact that 3 years ago my schools student association decided to make it mandatory
I am out 200 dollars that could go towards my gas or my parking pass. That is
only one of many fees such as dental and medical plans, now given both of these
you can opt out of but only after the first month of school, why is it that
even though I am covered already through another source that I need to give the
school money that I have to fill out a form to get back? Why not just let us
check off “do not need” on our application forms it would save people a lot of hassle
and fuss. Given some schools have an agreement with the
local community’s public transit system, whereby full-time students get a
“free” transit pass for the duration of their studies. This pass is usually heavily
subsidized and affords the student a great way to get to and from campus
without relying on a motorized vehicle and paying for parking. (http://www.canadianuniversities.net/Campus/Tuition-Fees.html)
I understand that there are fees required to keep the
school running, but why am I made to pay fees for things I do not use and why
am I paying a fee for the Alumni, a fee for Convocation (I don’t even know what
that is?) $25 for a transcript fee REALLY?? It costs $25 to print out a piece
of paper??
Needless to say college/university is
expensive and its seem that it’s not going to change anytime soon, but there
are people trying to change that like the UTSU, unfortunately if they are unsuccessful
and the prices of a secondary education continue to rise like they have then
eventually no one will be able to afford to go or everyone will be in debt for
the rest of their lives. Your choice.
By: Aaron Trafford
Date: Thurs Nov 1 2012
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