The cost of college - Feedback

University Business, Oct, 2003 by Stan Gardner

I read the September Admissions Angle article ["What TV Has Taught Us About Admissions"]. Everyone talking about admissions, cost, and quality of a college education, seems to miss [the fact that] there a Lot of small state colleges in almost every state that provide very good quality education at a very low cost. For example, at our college, Wayne State College, yearly cost is: tuition (30 credit hours per year) $2,610, mandatory student fees $822, room (double occupancy) $1,860, board (15-meal plan/week) $1,990. Total: $7,282.00. This is resident tuition, and while out-of-state tuition is higher, the Nebraska State College Board has a policy that anyone with a GPA of 3.25 graduating from any high school in the U.S., or transferring from another college anywhere in the U.S., can attend Nebraska State Colleges at in-state prices (the "Non-resident Scholars Program"). While many institutions on the East and West coasts are establishing enrollment caps and turning away students, most Midwest institutions have room to spare. Our institution could easily accommodate up to 5,000 students, yet we currently have only 3,600. Our sister institutions in Nebraska are in the same situation. ALL of them could handle half again as many students as are currently enrolled. The population demographics for the plain states show a decreasing number of traditional college-age students in the pipeline. We need to bring in students from the East and West Coasts, both for economic reasons and to expose our mostly rural students to a different mind set.

STAN GARDNER, Library Director

Wayne State College

Wayne, NE