LETTER: Consider effects of tuition increase on non-residents

Dear Editor,

My main concern about the proposed 9 percent tuition increase is that it doesn’t affect all the students the same way. The letter from the president states: “A full-time, resident undergraduate would pay $1,295.04 per semester, a difference of $186.76 per year or $1.30 per instruction day.” Now, some basic tuition math: If we consider the case of those who are not paying resident tuition, by increasing tuition 9 percent, a full-time non-resident student would pay $3,459.33. That’s a $285.63 per semester, $571.26 per year increase. Those of us who are international students don’t have the possibility to become residents or to be able to pay resident tuition after a certain period of time. Therefore, we would be paying this amount for a while. This increase would have a considerable effect on us. It does make a difference. I think President Hall’s efforts to improve the quality of the education at Utah State University are something to admire. We all want the best education possible for our money. However, I believe that by implementing policies that might in the long run benefit everyone but are somehow unfair to some sectors of the student body, all these efforts are meaningless.

Bruno Galli