The greed of the “1 percent” (to use the enemy of the Occupy Movement) is rampant on Wall Street, in the halls of Congress and now in the towers of academia.
Cleaning up after my annual Naughty Clause Party, I came across a bill from August 1999. It’s an invoice of sorts for a year’s study in an undergraduate degree program at NC State University. Here’s a snapshot (literally) of the costs to attend NCSU during the 1999-2000 academic year.
As you can see, Tuition and Fees were $2414 – for one year!
Compare that to the estimated annual expenses for full time undergraduate students living on or off campus for the 2010-2011 academic year, as provided by the University:
| 2010-11 |
NC Residents
|
Out of State Residents
|
|---|---|---|
| Tuition & Fees | $6529 | $19,064 |
| Books & Supplies | $1000 | $1000 |
| Room rent | $4976 | $4976 |
| Meals | $3178 | $3178 |
| Personal Expenses | $1250 | $1250 |
| Transportation | $750 | $1150 |
| Health Insurance | $744 | $744 |
| TOTAL | $18,427 | $31,362 |
A 170 percent increase in costs in just one decade.
Gives a whole new definition to “free as practicable.” (A reference to NC’s Constitutional mandate to provide the benefits of the people’s university…to the people free of expense). The NC Constitution must also make reference to the University’s responsibility to provide its students with health care?
Where has all the money gone? We will attempt to explore those issues here at Honest NC. To begin with, most of the money has gone to line the pockets of administrators, athletic coaches and tenured faculty with shoddy track records.
The 99 percent is justified in yelling about student debt load and the exorbitant costs of attaining a higher education.