Though $45,000 a year is a hefty price for an education, families find ways to manage. But if college costs continue to rise, more parents and students will struggle to cover the tuition.

Joseph Wieder, a liaison for the board of trustees for undergraduate students, drew attention to these issues at a college affordability panel discussion on campus Thursday, when he and other students questioned four panelists from nearby schools about tuition increases.

The most pressing issue surrounding rising tuition costs, as all four panelists agreed, is that financial aid is often predominantly funded by tuition fees. Such is the case with Syracuse University, despite its attempts to keep tuition as low as possible.

Gwenn Judge, director of office budget and planning at SU, said college costs are becoming more difficult for lower- and middle-income families to afford.

She also said SU is heavily dependent on New York state aid, which was recently cut by two-thirds.

‘We get 30 percent of the appropriation now,’ Judge said to a small crowd. She added that the amount of money would not be enough to cover library, technology, building and renovation costs.

‘What it costs today to outfit a classroom…escalates year after year. It’s incredible how it increased from 10 years ago,’ she said.

Chris Walsh, special assistant to the vice president of enrollment management at SU, agreed that college is too expensive.

‘Why is it so expensive? We’re not very efficient. Who wants huge lecture classes? You want small classes. What kinds of professors do you want? You want the best,’ Walsh said. ‘To get the education you want and deserve, it’s expensive. But it comes from tuition. We are very tuition dependent.’

Walsh’s response questioned whether tuition costs would then continue to increase at the same rate as the demands for school expenses.

‘As the endowment grows, tuition will continue to grow, but it won’t be paid by parents,’ Walsh said. ‘In the future, we will cope by getting money from other sources. We have reached a peak of what we can ask families to sacrifice in regard for education.’

William C. Cheetham, Le Moyne College financial aid director, agreed that more funding needs to come from other sources, and said that politicians need to focus attention on the issue.

‘Higher education can’t just be the flavor of the month,’ Cheetham said. ‘The lack of support of the federal and state government puts on a lot of pressure. None of us can do this alone.’

Panelists questioned Jay Biba, Central New York regional director for Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), about federal government funding priorities.

‘Pulling money out of the federal government is always a challenge,’ Biba said.

Though it may not be a top priority for all of congress, Biba said education is ‘at least in the top five’ of Clinton’s priorities.

The role of politicians also becomes especially important for public university tuition.

John View, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry financial aid director, said at least for state schools, there are expenses beyond the school’s control, such as tuition, which is set by the state.

He also said oil costs, along with electricity, are rising, which drives individual as well as school costs.

‘When we look at college affordability, we are looking at all the costs in there,’ View said. ‘Families can only do so much. If we can do something to help, we’ll bust our butts to make it happen.’

View also suggested ways students can avoid debt.

‘We encourage students to look at their financial records,’ he said.

He added it isn’t wise for students to simply go online, fill out a form and expect to get $40,000 of aid. ‘Come into the financial aid office, sit down and speak about it with a professional,’ View said.

View also emphasized the power that students have in changing the current situation of rising costs, especially by formulating a plan with a large group of students.

‘I’m one person,’ he said, ‘If 25,000 students stood up and recommended something new, that’s a different voice.’

Published on November 15, 2007 at 12:00 pm