What am I paying for?

I don't know what all the fuss is about. For as long as I can remember, people have been complaining about the rising costs of tuition. Some believe tuition hike after tuition hike has turned IU into a place only "rich" kids can afford. \nBut tuition is not the problem. It is the ubiquitous fees the University is becoming addicted to charging. Tuition, in a sense, has actually been falling. As a percentage of a student's total cost at IU, tuition is on the decrease. \nTuition can account for as little as 65 percent of what you are assessed by the Office of the Bursar. If you are an Indiana resident freshman in the business school, you pay each semester: $2,378 in tuition, a $62.50 activity fee, $30 transportation fee, $87.96 health fee, $200 technology fee, $415 business fee and a $500 freshman fee. \nThe developing attitude to tack on a new fee any time a University institution is suffering financial woes is scary. Just last week the athletic department dropped the suggestion of a new fee to revive their cash-strapped operation. Every time these fees are approved, tuition becomes even more irrelevant.\nEven worse, the fees don't stop after your bursar bill is paid. You still might be charged the $9 transcript fee, a $50 international student fee, a $15 recording fee or the $6 schedule adjustment fee to name a few. Didn't we already pay for this stuff? How ironic it is that after being here for four years and paying over $60,000 in tuition and fees (I'm an out of state student), I still need to pay $9 more for my transcript so my future employer can verify I actually went to school here.\nFar and away, the biggest fee is the new freshman fee. The $1,000 annual fee assessed to all new students will raise approximately $46 million in so-called "Commitment to Excellence" funds. In all actuality, this fee should really be called the science and human biology fee, as $34 million, or 74 percent, of the money is going to fund these two areas alone. This fee is yet another example of the University using fees to fill funding holes. \nFunds raised by the freshman fee are being used to hire more faculty, create new degree programs and to finance research. These are the things tuition is supposed to cover. While I understand why the money is needed, IU has lost over $100 million in state funding over the past few years; I question why tuition was not raised instead.\nBy instituting new fees and continuing to charge existing fees, IU is deceiving tuition payers. The press release issued by the University to announce the May tuition hike solidifies this point. The release quotes IU Interim President Gerald Bepko as saying, "We've carefully considered all of the components that affect the cost of an education at Indiana University, including guidance we've received from state officials. I believe this 4 percent figure is the right one." \n The 4 percent figure he is referring to applies only to tuition and excludes increases in mandatory fees, making his entire statement worthless. Adding to the confusion, the University has a Web site that compares tuition and fees for 2002-2003 with 2003-2004 (www.indiana.edu/~pagr/\ntuition/studentfees.shtml). The numbers listed on this Web page do not agree with the figures listed in the University press release. The site states tuition and fees increased $101.23 for current in-state students while the press release states "instructional fees" alone increased $182.90 (newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/953.html). How can this be? \nThe University needs to take a leading stance on the costs of college. IU should group all costs into one number. Fees should be eliminated; instead the University should itemize the total cost figure for informational purposes on each student's bursar bill. In public statements, IU should be clear and straightforward about costs. Tell it the way it is. We are going to find out when we write the check anyway.