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| Education funding hit hard, possible
link to 9-11 |
Chris Bohle
Senior Staff Writer
Business Affairs Beat
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The terrorist attacks
of 9-11 sent a shockwave through the American economy, hitting hardest
an institution where funding was already hard to come by—public
education.
Increasing tuition, swelling enrollment and a
continually shrinking budget have all become major issues at public
universities nationwide this year, with Appalachian State University
being no exception.
According to a recent USA Today survey, in-state
tuition at public universities has gone up an average of 8 percent
from last year, while out-of-state students will experience a 9
percent increase.
The survey selected 68 major public universities throughout the
country, with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill being
this state’s sole representative. UNC-Chapel Hill had the fourth
highest in-state tuition increase of all the schools surveyed, with
a 17 percent hike.
Bob L. Shaffer, associate vice chancellor for public affairs at
Appalachian, said North Carolina is not alone, however, with states
all over the country feeling the squeeze.
“There are some 45 states with cuts being made to higher education,”
said Shaffer. “You’re looking at tuition increases in
most, if not all of those states.”
Although Appalachian has in no way dodged the effects of the deteriorated
economy, Shaffer said it has been difficult to determine what exactly
9-11’s impact has been on this university.
“It’s hard to draw a direct correlation,” said Shaffer.
“We already had an economic slowdown before 9-11, and afterwards
the problem just became exacerbated.”
According to the survey, many younger students are now opting for
not only cheaper schools, but closer schools as well.
Shaffer said it is hard to determine if there are more in-state
students than usual this year, mainly due to publicity Appalachian
received from Time magazine.
“The applications from out of state probably went up because
of the Time article,” said Shaffer. “But whether or not
we attracted more in-state students due to the attacks is hard to
tell—that could just be because of [the Time article].”
Though the effects of 9-11 on Appalachian’s enrollment may
be unclear, the financial strain that has now been placed on students
could not be more apparent.
“We’ve seen a sharp increase in the amount of need-based
financial aid to be distributed this year,” said Jane P. Helm,
vice chancellor for business affairs.
State revenues were hit hard by 9-11 and the ensuing economic downfall,
and out of state tuition at Appalachian now exceeds $10,000.
Shaffer stresses, however, that Appalachian has held its own quite
well in comparison to other public universities.
“I know that tuition alone went up by $1,900 for out of state
students at the University of Georgia,” said Shaffer. “Appalachian
has remained a relative bargain compared to a lot of other schools.”
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