Short-Changed
New tuition plan must be examined

Chancellor Michael Ferrari will introduce his plan for a comprehensive flat rate for tuition at Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting, which could be instituted as early as next fall.

Under the plan, students would pay a flat rate, based on 15 credit hours if they carry between 12 and 18 hours. Those students taking more than 15 hours would receive those hours free.

But as they say in the world of economics, “There is no such thing as a free lunch.”

There may be possible increases in instructional costs, and class availability and class size may be compromised.

In addition, students taking only 12 hours a semester will still be paying for an extra three hours. Not all students will be able to carry more than 12 hours. Working students, athletes and students receiving extensive amounts of financial aid will all be at a disadvantage.

Furthermore, students receiving academic scholarships will face increased pressure. Currently, scholarship students at the freshman level are only required to take 12 hours. In fact, 12 hours are the suggested amount of hours that any freshman should tackle.

Will the university change its recommendation or simply charge the students for the extra three hours?

A benefit of the rates would mean an increase in four-year graduation rates. Currently, the average four-year graduation rate from TCU is only 40 percent.

The university hopes the flat rate would elevate TCU’s status among other colleges like Southern Methodist University, which currently uses comprehensive flat rates for tuition and posts much higher four-year graduation rates. Currently, TCU and Baylor University are the only two private universities in the state that do not have comprehensive flat rates for tuition.

Increasing the four-year graduation rate at TCU should be a continued endeavor; however, the university administration needs to examine all the repercussions a comprehensive flat rate for tuition would bring before it takes this action.

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