Alabama University students will visit the Statehouse in Montgomery on Thursday, April 9, to lobby lawmakers for more higher-education funding and fewer cutbacks.
Students from nearly every public university in Alabama will attend, including Auburn students.
Auburn needs to pay attention to these Higher Education Days, because the decisions made will affect their pockets. Alabama has consistently cut funding towards higher education, causing Auburn to hike tuition rates to counteract the difference in budget.
For a public four-year school, in the 2012-13 year, the average tuition rates went up 51.5 percent from the 2007-08 school year, according to the College Board Annual Survey of Colleges.
Students cannot continue to pay these ever-increasing tuition rates. According to the Project on Student Debt, 54 percent of college students in Alabama now graduate with debt. Overall, the nation’s student loan debt is rapidly approaching $1 trillion.
Alabama’s state government is forcing students to go into debt while pursuing higher education goals.
Currently, according to a report published by the Grapevine at Illinois State University, Alabama ranks fourth in the nation for budget cuts to higher education at 28 percent cut between 2008-13. With less government funding leading to higher tuition rates, some students may turn away from higher education, finding the cost to be too high to pursue.
The state will miss out on these students who turn away from higher education or the students who cannot finish because costs have become too high.
According to the College Board, statistics, federal, state and local governments receive increased tax revenues from college graduates and the government ends up spending less on income support for college graduates. Adults with higher levels of education are also more active citizens than those with lower levels of education.
Naturally, in order for Alabama to give more funding for higher education, taxes would have to be raised.
Students pay sales tax. Through our rent checks, we pay housing taxes. Students who have part-time or full-time jobs during the year pay income tax. Students have every right to ask the government to raise taxes to help pay for higher education.
Many Auburn students remain in the state after graduation and continue to contribute to tax revenue.
Auburn students must continue to draw the government’s attention to increased funding for higher education. The continued pursuit of higher education cannot be dismissed or deterred, and the ultimate benefits from those who pursue higher education far outweigh the minor tax increasing it would cause.
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