Weber State students discuss their tuition dollars

OGDEN — Jessica Kagie believes she is getting the same education as her friends at larger Utah universities, only her class sizes are smaller at Weber State University. The tuition isn't bad, either.

"If anything, my education is better," she said Wednesday during a discussion group that was part of the national American Democracy Project's Deliberative Democracy Day, in which students talked about the ever-increasing costs of higher education. She said she chose Weber because of the "reasonably priced general education" it offers.

"I didn't want to be in debt for my undergraduate education, and although it sounds cliche, you get more bang for the buck here," Kagie said. It turns out the cost of going to college is one of the major factors that deters people from pursuing a higher education. At Wednesday's panel, students seemed to be concerned with how the university spends their tuition and fee money.

Phyllis "Teddy" Safman, assistant commissioner for academic affairs for the Utah Board of Regents and panelist for the event, said it's good for students to ask questions but also necessary to understand that "tuition doesn't have a direct line to your programs. It gets used all over." However, budgets are considered public information and can usually be found on school Web sites.

Nationwide, tuition and fees at America's colleges and universities have increased more than 400 percent since 1982 and have seen an 11 percent jump in the last two years. But even with the annual increases, Utah's tuition rates have remained below the national average at public, four-year institutions. Perhaps as a result, more Utahns have a bachelor's degree than the national average of 17 percent, according to the most recent census numbers.

"I think higher education is more than just career preparation," said Brad King, vice president for institutional advancement and student services at the College of Eastern Utah. He said colleges and universities offer something unique that benefits both the individual and society and is worth the money.

It costs just under $1,700 per semester for 12-18 credit hours of undergraduate resident education at WSU, which is less than any of the other public four-year institutions in the state, with an exception of Utah Valley University, which is close behind. The average tuition increase last year in Utah was 5.7 percent, and officials this year have said they would try to keep any increase under 10 percent.