Prairie View A&M University students will begin their fall 2005 semester with less cash in their pockets, due to fee increases expected to hit the university. PV is not the only institution of higher learning in the Texas A&M University System expected to increase fees, but it is expected to make the largest jump. “If they continue to increase fees like they are, several students will leave and go to UH or another cheaper school,” said senior biology major Harvey Bowden. “In addition to that, people who would have come here in search of an affordable education may just stay at home instead.”
With designated tuition alone, PV has gone from around $800 to nearly $1,100 in the fall, an increase that PV students are told will result in higher pay for faculty and staff as well as assist in paying for the new buildings sprouting up all over campus. Yet financial aid will not increase to meet these rising costs, and 95 percent of Prairie View’s student body is dependent on some type of aid. “If you’re going to add and increase stuff, then subtract a couple of things also,” said senior education major Scott Sampson. “…like the athletic fee. I mean where is the new stadium?”
Explaining the increase, President George C. Wright in his memorandum on “Tuition, Fees, and the Future of the University” said, “As we have all learned in recent years, tuition and fee increases have become a part of academic life as more of the cost of higher education has been shifted from the state to the student.” Additionally, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Dan Williams assured students that any increase is for the betterment of PV as a whole. Williams said Wright’s biggest contribution while he is at PV is to “enhance the value of the degree earned,” and to increase the value of the degree and PV’s reputation for alumni as well as future graduates.
However, the damage to students’ pocketbooks does not end with school fees. Students can also expect an increase in their housing bills. When University Village Phase I was opened in 1997, a four-bedroom apartment cost $295 to rent a month, and as of fall 2005 it will be $408. Same room, same location and same amenities but a $113 increase. Additionally, rent is going up across the board, from University College to Phase III. “The Phases are continually going up, and I see no improvement,” said Sampson. “They need to provide more security and make the interior of the apartments more durable.”
All in all, several students have surrendered to the monetary fight. “I wish there was something I could do or someone I could call about it,” said sophomore health major Denne Alexander. “But when I’m honest with myself, I know there is nothing I can do about it but get another job or take out a bigger loan.