Editorial : SU joins $50K club as costs of college climb nationwide

The most recent tuition increase has inducted Syracuse University into the 50K club.

This week, The Chronicle of Higher Education released the list of universities whose combined tuition, room and board and living expenses exceed $50,000. Students and their parents have already felt the financial affects of the 3.6 percent tuition increase. But the Chronicle article reminds us of the pressure increased tuition should put on both the university and its students to use the money wisely.

Put into context, the 3.6 percent increase was very low relative to past increases at SU and compared to increases at other schools. For example, the Berklee College of Music increased tuition by 8.3 percent.

But the fact remains that SU joins 122 other colleges whose cost of attendance exceeds $50,000. By January, student loan debt will reach $1 trillion and exceed America’s combined credit card debt.

It leaves us wondering where the money is going. As tuition increases, the university should feel beholden to students, who bank roll operations. SU should feel more pressure to ensure that all those operations directly aid the educational process, keep administrative costs as low as possible and strengthen academics. The most gracious and responsible thing that universities could do in this bleak economy would be to publish a general breakdown of where tuition money goes, just as citizens can view the details of a county or state budget.

The financial pressure students feel at college is no more pronounced than in the dining halls. Students face this dilemma, however comical, everyday: eat a light, healthy meal or make the most of the $12, or more, students pay for a single dining hall visit.

But students also have a responsibility to themselves and their parents to take advantage of everything the increased tuition has made possible on college campuses: study abroad, language tables, clubs, office hours, field trips, lectures and research projects. Every class a student skips is about $100 thrown away.

Both universities and students need a lesson in fiscal responsibility.