Several Ohio University students have signed an online petition expressing outrage over President Roderick McDavis’ letter to the editor regarding guaranteed tuition published on July 5 in The Columbus Dispatch.
In the letter, McDavis explained that guaranteed tuition will ensure all students pay “flat rate” tuition and fee costs for four years from their entering academic year. According to McDavis, this is for parents and students to avoid unexpected tuition increases, as well as provide an incentive for students to earn a degree within four years.
Some students, including some members of the OU Student Union and Student Senate, subsequently expressed outrage via the petition that guaranteed tuition does not lower student debt. But some OU officials agree with them.
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Hosted on Change.org, the petition was drafted by OU students and members of the Student Union, who declined to speak to The Post. The petition calls out McDavis on his promises of “financial predictability” to parents and students, as well as the endangerment of students with high course loads and those who may find it difficult to graduate within four years.
The petition states, “Guaranteed tuition is a blatant abuse of Ohio University students: while it may help the more privileged families within our university by providing some ‘financial predictability,’ this program does little to address the increasingly dire issue of student debt.” The petition called the plan a “Guaranteed Tuition Hike in fancy wrappings.”
There were 121 signers as of Friday morning, many of whom wrote comments expressing their personal struggles with tuition increases at OU. It's impossible to verify if all signers are current OU students.
Sydney Joslin-Knapp, a student from Dayton, stated, “There are many families headed by only one parent; in some cases, that one parent is solely responsible for helping with tuition. Tuition should not jeopardize an education, and raising it only raises the chances that OU will have even fewer students from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. That limits the voices that will ultimately have an impact on our society.”
Among those who share that concern is Student Senate Vice President Caitlyn McDaniel. She expressed in an email statement that senate intends to work with the administration to find “real solutions” to issues such as student debt, and that guaranteed tuition is not one of them.
The slogan "guaranteed tuition is a guaranteed tuition hike" was a talking point during Restart's campaign in last spring's senate election, and is written in the petition. Megan Marzec, who could not be reached for comment, was one of four OU students arrested protesting a tuition increase at a 2013 Board of Trustees meeting. She is the new president of senate.
In response to the petition, Stephanie Filson, OU's director of external communications, said in an email statement that McDavis and university leadership agree with the petition's point on reducing student debt.
"The petition’s main message seems to be that guaranteed tuition is not the answer to student debt," she said. "We agree. Although it may prove to be a helpful tool to students who are budgeting for college, the development of the guaranteed tuition program was not intended to be a response to national student debt management."
To show OU's commitment to assisting with the cost of college, Filson highlighted OU's working toward creating a $75 million scholarship endowment, which will generate $2.1 million in awards for freshmen this fall. She also pointed out the $156 award going to returning sophomores, juniors and seniors to offset the recent tuition increase for the neediest students.
Further, McDavis' office has had little correspondence with the new senate, Filson said.
"President McDavis would like to meet regularly with (Marzec), as has been the case with all former senate presidents," Filson said. "He welcomes communication from senate in this regard."
It's unclear if Marzec has responded to McDavis' invitation, as The Post could not reach her.
aw120713@ohiou.edu
@Alisa_Warren
