What’s behind college tuition increases?

In response to a recent letter regarding Pell Grants and their funding by Mallory Anzivino:

Thank you for bringing up great points, Mallory. As a college grad with a masters in education and $60,000 in debt to Western Washington University, University of Washington, UW-Bothell and Shoreline Community College, I believe an additional issue that needs to be discussed is those increases in tuition costs. Does the University of Washington really need to continue to increase those quarterly or semester tuition costs? No.

The University of Washington continues to have billions of dollars in their Consolidated Endowment Fund (CEF) where the yearly interest earned could cover all tuition costs for all students. In addition, every year there are more endowments added to only increase the earned interest of the endowment. The rich continue to get richer. While the rest of us fight over scraps.

We need to put pressure on our senators and representatives to hold our universities accountable with regard to their endowment funds. Especially if they are claiming to be public institutions of higher learning.

Why do we continue to see more and more satellite universities pop up? Why do we keep seeing more buildings built on college and university campuses? Because these colleges and universities have monies they need to spend on capital projects so they can still claim their non-profit status.

I guess the bright side is these projects prop up the middle-class blue-collar worker. I’m pretty confident many Millennial and Gen Z parents, who went to college, will be discouraging their children from attending college based on the trajectory of these tuition increases. Maybe universities don’t worry about having repeat customers? They just worry about increasing their endowments and earnings on those endowments.

Become an electrician or plumber. Don’t do college.

Kristin Lavelle

Darrington