Column: Students should get involved with budget
Published Dec. 4, 2009
Before Thanksgiving break, CNN ran headline after headline about University of California students protesting raised costs for higher education. Students protested outside the budget vote confirming a 32-percent hike in undergraduate tuition fees. Their voices were heard, and they made a splash, media-wise, but they'll still be paying $585 more in January and another $1,344 next fall.
Around the same time, MU students got some news: Gov. Jay Nixon and university system presidents agreed to cut budgets in exchange for freezing in-state tuition for the next academic year. The announcement secured little comfort for graduate and out-of-state students, but it was better news than what coastal students heard.
Student leaders have an awesome opportunity to put their organizational skills to work by bringing students together to address what we're paying and see if there are possible ways to save. Administrators are open to student input -- we just have to make the effort. Let's get finance students involved at looking through budgets. Let's make tuition adjustment a key goal of the Missouri Students Association's new legislative program and of the Associated Students of the University of Missouri's agenda. Let's bring students together to do what they do best, whether it be researching, analyzing or communicating. It was awesome to see students come together to lobby Access Missouri — let's continue that energy.
Be conscientious about what you're willing to pay outside of the classroom. You can get internship credit from involvement with a variety of on-campus organizations and activities. If you're going to be involved in any on-campus activity that can offer you academic credit, be sure to think about both sides. Every hour you spend doing an activity is an hour you can't spend academically, so if you aren't going to get paid you might as well get academic credit for your work.
Every credit hour you attribute to that internship is one you can't use on another class, one that could also prepare you for your chosen career. As someone who has taken 18 credit hours each semester on top of student involvement, career preparation and a job, I know it isn't always feasible to work with something time-intensive, but if you can make it work, consider it.
In most departments, you'll still be paying for that credit — so why not get the internship/involvement experience for free and use the money on another class, whether it be a personal finance course or something directly related to your major?
Take use of what you are paying by going to class regularly. I remember my first day in the residence halls freshman year. There was a bright red bulletin board outside the elevators breaking down the cost of tuition to a day of class and showing how much money you waste by skipping a day or week's worth of classes. I don't remember the exact number, but it wasn't small change. No doubt you'll miss a day here or there, but be sure to sign up for classes you want to take so you aren't tempted to skip often. If you think of every class period as a seminar in a subject you care about, you'll want to go. Realize education is an investment in your future, as cliché as that might sound. And remember you get what you pay for — but not if you throw it away.