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North Carolina offers college at bargain prices
July 25,2005
Mike Parker
Staff writer, The Kinston Free Press
As a new school year draws closer, many parents face college costs. Most of us understand the sacrifices parents and students must make to pay for the opportunity to get an education.
But I am not sure our citizens understand what a bargain a college education is in this state.
What started me thinking about this issue was an article I saw in the Columbus (OH) Dispatch while I was visiting my mother in early June.
"Annual bill at OSU to rise $1,000," the headline said.
The average in-state undergraduate student in Ohio is likely to suffer sticker shock when he or she looks at this fall's price tag. Costs for an in-state student at Ohio State will top $16,600.
Tuition alone at Ohio's flagship university is $7,929 for the coming school year. Room and board charges increased 6.1 percent to $7,203.
Let's move a little closer to home. At North Carolina's third largest state university - that's East Carolina for all you who may be wondering - in-state tuition for the 2004-2005 year was $2,135. Students will not face a tuition hike this year.
Even with all fees added, East Carolina's undergraduate tuition and fees for in-state students totals $3,454, compared to OSU's total of $9,342.
The most expensive room at East Carolina is $3,790 for the academic year. The most expensive meal plan ECU offers is the "19 Pirate Plus" plan, a meal plan that provides 19 meals per week plus at $350 declining balance. The cost of this plan per semester is $1,525 for the 2005-2006 academic year - a total of $3,050.
A frugal student can trim hundreds of dollars from the costs of getting an ECU education just by going with a less expensive meal plan.
Still, using the most expensive options for room and board at ECU brings these items to a tidy $6,840 - which is still $360 a year less than an Ohio State student pays for room and board.
All told, the in-state ECU student living on campus pays $10,294 for the year, or about 62 percent of what the in-state student at OSU who lives on campus pays.
In fact, the out-of-state student who lives on campus at ECU pays only about $4,000 more than the comparable in-state OSU student. Total costs for tuition, fees, and room and board for an out-of-state student attending ECU is $20,508.
Can you now begin to understand why so many out-of-state students flock to attend North Carolina's public universities? In many cases, attending a North Carolina public university as an out-of-state student costs only a little more - sometimes no more - than attending a public university as a resident student at home.
What makes North Carolina universities such a bargain, especially for our home-grown students?
The chief difference between in-state costs and out-of-state costs is the contribution the state of North Carolina makes on behalf of in-state students.
Simply put, the Tar Heel state - read "taxpayers" - contributes more than $9,000 each year for each "full-time equivalent" in-state student. Costs for tuition and fees for a North Carolina student are $9,200 less than for an out-of-state student.
Our state makes a significant financial commitment so that higher education is possible for students of this state. Other states are far less generous.
Daniel Slane, a member of the Ohio State Board of Trustees, made this observation:
"States have transferred the burden of public education from the public to the individual."
The people of North Carolina still wisely view education as a way of improving the economic and social conditions for our citizens.
So the next time you are tempted to complain about those college costs, do a little research. You'll understand that in our state we buy luxury education at bargain basement prices.
Mike Parker is a columnist for The Free Press. He can be reached at mparker16@cox.net or in care of this newspaper. |
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