THIS is a #recovery?!

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This post was grabbed from The Joplin Globe

Check out the highlighted portions, bold, and see if it sounds like a recovery to you?!

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April 9, 2012
Crowder College tuition to increase next fall
By Josh Letner
news@joplinglobe.com

NEOSHO, Mo. — The Crowder College Board of Trustees is in hopes of less pain than initially anticipated via state budget cuts, but has approved a 5.5 percent, in-district tuition increase that will take effect next fall.

Crowder President Alan Marble said the recent tuition action was a response to several years of shrinking state subsidies.

“It’s a long-term situation,” he said. “We received about $4.9 million in 2001 and had half as many students. Now we’re receiving $4.2 million and we’re looking at an eight percent cut. Our percentage of state funding is at a historical low. Fifteen years ago it wasn’t unusual for us to receive about 45 percent of our funding from the state, but this year we’ll be well below 20 percent.”

The increase approved calls for a 5.5 percent boost of $4 per credit hour for the current in-district tuition of $73 to $77, a 5 percent boost of $5 per credit hour for out of-district students from $100 to $105, and a 4.7 percent hike of $6 per credit hour for out-of-state students from $128 per hour to $134.

Rep. Mike Kelley, of Lamar, a member of the House Committee for Education Appropriations, said representatives chose to eliminate Gov. Jay Nixon’s proposed cuts in the House’s draft budget that is currently under consideration in the Senate.

“We are currently funding our colleges and universities at levels lower than what we were a decade ago, so it’s not going in the right direction,” Kelley said. “As you continue to increase the cost of higher education, it makes it harder to have an educated work force.”

Representative Tom Flanigan, of Carthage, said the reduced funding for colleges and universities is a result of a struggling economy. He said that by stabilizing funding levels, the House is trying to encourage residents to invest in higher education.

“I think it’s a trend in the economy more than anything else,” he said. “When the economy starts to pick back up things are bound to improve, but until then, if we can maintain the present level I think that creates certainty and people will be more likely to continue their education.”

Like state officials, Marble said Crowder’s administration has tried to do everything possible to address shrinking revenue.

“We have been very frugal in how we have operated,” he said. “We don’t pay the highest salaries around. We have tried to combine and not duplicate things wherever possible, and we have opened up several locations to help increase enrollment and tuition revenue.”

While government and institutions try to tighten their belts, the financial burden of higher education is increasingly coming to rest on the shoulders of students like 30-year-old Joe Wiliams, a non-traditional student from Neosho. Williams said higher tuition will only make his life more difficult.

“Times are tight,” he said. “Obviously, the higher the tuition gets, it’s going to make it harder, not only for adult students, but for traditional students as well who might not get (financial aid). It makes it harder for them or their parents to pay tuition.”

Marble said he can empathize with students who may be operating on tight budgets.

“I’ve been a student before,” Marble said, “and you’re never happy about a tuition increase, but letting the institution go down the tubes is not a good option either, so I think the students are very understanding and realize that we raise tuition as a last resort.” <-- I add BS

For his part, Williams is taking a pragmatic view of the increase.

“Nobody’s happy about increasing what we have to pay, but Crowder’s still the lowest tuition in this area by far.”





Budget background

In January, Gov. Jay Nixon proposed a 12 percent cut in higher education funding for fiscal year 2013, which begins July 1. Nixon proposed cutting $89 million from four-year institutions and $16.9 million from two-year institutions. In February, Nixon scaled back the proposed cuts to 8 percent, or $66 million before sending his proposed budget to the House.

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It certainly SEEMS that the EASY way for everyone to increase revenue is through inflation!

Dumb asses continue to price themselves right out of business as they BLOW MORE BUBBLES!

Greg