Resolution on Tuition and Affordability

WHEREAS: from 1981-82 to 2013-14 tuition at Teachers College, Columbia University has risen from $488.85 per tuition point in 2013 dollars to $1,344 in 2013 dollars;

AND WHEREAS: tuition at Teachers College, Columbia University remained below $520 in 2013 dollars from 1915-16 to 1981-82, a span of 66 years;

AND WHEREAS: for the overwhelming majority of Teachers College, Columbia University’s history, Teachers College, Columbia University was more affordable than the Graduate Center at City University of New York is currently;

AND WHEREAS: tuition increases and student indebtedness are accepted as inevitable at Teachers College, Columbia University;

AND WHEREAS: tuition increases and student indebtedness are not limited to Teachers College, Columbia University but are indicative of national trends;

AND WHEREAS: Teachers College, Columbia is a national leader in education and should lead by example;

AND WHEREAS: the majority of graduates from this institution intend to work in the helping professions, professions that are not typically well-paid;

AND WHEREAS: student indebtedness can preclude graduates’ ability to enter the helping professions they came to Teachers College, Columbia University to pursue and for which Teachers College, Columbia University claims to train people;

THEREFORE: the Teachers College, Columbia University Student Senate resolves that tuition as it currently stands is punitively high, that student indebtedness as a norm is morally unacceptable and in conflict with the social justice mission of the College, and urges Teachers College, Columbia University to consider the following provisos:

FIRST: Lower tuition;

SECOND: Lower tuition by pegging tuition increases to the Consumer Price Index, which is the nationally recognized measure of inflation;

THIRD: Lower tuition by adding the option of term-based tuition scheme at a discount as an option to encourage students to finish faster;

FOURTH: Inform students in advance of anticipated increases in tuition by providing a public forum for student feedback;

FIFTH: Devise a student tuition statement that broadly depicts the breakdown of tuition disbursement across Teachers College, Columbia University;

SIXTH: Commit to a College-wide moral obligation that ensures students’ needs are valued and reflected in tuition levels, thus maintaining and fulfilling Teachers College, Columbia University’s status as an international leader in higher education.