Protests Tuition hike rate

A student had this to write regarding the recent tuition increase by CCCS. Here is to our program surviving!!!

To College Relations and other interested parties:

When registering for on-line classes this evening I was totally astonished and disappointed that Red Rocks College has raised on-line tuition by 76% and has enacted this exorbitant increase in only one semester.

I am in the middle of a certificate program and these costs are an assault to my family’s financial well being. I most likely would not have started this certificate at the new rates and continuing my studies to an AAS degree may now be out of reach. On-line education is my only means of continuing education as I live in a remote location. I also enjoy the diversity of ideas and target the specialized course offerings at varying institutions.

What are the motivations at your exemplary institution in excluding fellow Americans through such unequal and accelerated tuition increases? On-Line education… no heat, no electric, very little facility wear and tear . A special technology fee, yes. A 76% increase in one semester could be construed as attempted elimination of all non Colorado residents with limited means. Are the boundaries between the states getting thicker? Let’s care for our children and let the neighbors eat cake. What a unified country we would be with that attitude.

Forget my personal situation and laments but consider that this tuition structuring is a tremendous set back for knowledge sharing between the states and within each discipline. The sharing of knowledge, ideas, and resources makes the world a better place to live in. U.S. colleges and institutions should start by eliminating the territorial (state) discrimination which incur unnecessary educational limits.

Each trade or discipline should speak up loudly for the free and equal access to the shared knowledge base of this Country by fostering on-line education and treating all on-line U.S.A. students equally.

I live in MA. and have spent my On-line education dollars over the past 5 years in CA. ,MI. and CO. for program content not geographic reasoning. (Hello…the # 1 reason and # 1 strong point of ON-line education! ) Perhaps future affordable On-line education will have to be from MA. Institutions if this academic discrimination creeps into all school Bursars offices.

James Kielawa Nantucket MA 8-10-05

E-mail: jk@benchmarkinc.net