Tuition on the rise

The Vermont State College Board of Trustees voted to raise tuition for Lyndon State College four percent for the 2011-2012 school year on Thursday, but that doesn't mean students won't experience budget cuts around campus.

"An increase will help, but we're still going to be on a very very very tight budget," said LSC President Carol Moore. "I will say that we will be looking at everything as an area for potential savings. We will do our very best not to have to look at personnel, but we will be looking at everything."

Even after a four percent increase in tuition the college will still be facing a large deficit. After raising tuition four percent the college could still face a deficit between $413,508 and $745,345.

In his address this week Governor Peter Shumlin proposed to keep the state appropriation the same, however Shumlin is proposing that the stimulus money be cut out of the college budget. If that does happen, the college could face a $745,345 deficit.

"I would have to say I am appreciative that he (Gov. Shumlin) didn't cut back any further than what is proposing in his budget," said Moore. "He is proposing to cut the stimulus money from our budget, but no more. Given the economy in the state and what the state is facing with their own deficits, this is probably as good as we can expect."

This means the budget will take some time to balance.

The decision to raise tuition comes after the Vermont State College Board of Trustees met in Montpelier on Jan. 19. Students from both Lyndon and Johnson State College attended the meeting to have their voices heard.

The students of both colleges that attended the meeting were in favor of a four and a half percent increase.

Some students from Johnson were willing to go as high as was needed to keep the quality of the programs. Students said that this increase would be minuscule in the long run compared to a law school. However, many students are struggling to pay rising tuition costs.

"The students will not agree to an increase because students are feeling the heat of the economic state that we are in," said SGA president John Kleinhans.

 As much as Kleinhans says students may not want to see tuition go up, but it is necessary for the budget to be balanced, and a raise in tuition helps to do this.

 "We need to realize we are educating Vermonters," said Kleinhans at the meeting.

Kleinhans is afraid that the VSC system, which advertises affordability as one of its attractions, will no longer be affordable to Vermont students if tuition continues to be raised year after year.

Before the tuition hearing the VSC Student Association created a poll that was distributed to all students in the system as a way to gain an understanding of what students would accept. Only 346 students throughout the VSC completed the survey.

Of the students who did complete the survey, 142 voted for no increase, 98 students said that an increase of three percent would be okay, and the remaining students said that they would support any increase if it helped keep the quality of the programs.

The decision to raise tuition typically is not made until April. However, the committee decided that it would be appropriate to make the decision earlier in the year in order to give the colleges time to adjust the budget and give accurate numbers to students who are being recruited for the fall.

Last year LSC needed to make cuts after the tuition announcement in order to balance the budget. Those cuts included the cancellation of several classes that caused controversy among students and staff.