Cost-Income Disparity for

University of Minnesota Undergraduates

Our perspective on student income, tuition, and the University of
Minnesota non-compliance to Minneapolis minimum wage laws

April 1, 2018
Writing 3672 Team Two
Delaney Facklam, Kristin Liepold, Greta Gage,
Jamie Schultz, Max Franz, Hafid, Sarah Bliss
 Table of Contents

Introduction 2

Why Cost/Income Disparity has become a Problem 2

Factors Contributing to Cost and Income Disparity 6

Effects of Cost and Income Disparity on Students 9

Approaches to Help Ease Cost and Income Disparity for Students 10

Back Matter 11

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 Introduction
University of Minnesota Students are facing increased disparity among income, living expenses,
and tuition.This paper focuses on why these factors have become a problem, factors contributing
to this disparity, effects of this disparity and presenting solutions to that disparity.
With college costs consistently rising, more students need to find ways to fund their education
and living expenses. More students have to find jobs to pay these expenses. Students who rely on
income from jobs outside of school are the most impacted by this disparity—these students don’t
have the same ability to pay for school or housing as students who don’t rely on outside jobs.
The impact in quantifiable terms are that students at the University of Minnesota are averaging
over $1,000 of cost versus income per year disparity, and averaging around twice as much time
spent working as opposed to attending class and working on assignments. On top of all of this,
the participants in the survey represented various majors with different sources and amounts of
income––giving a clear overall picture of the state of student living at the University of
Minnesota. These statistics support the proposition that students at the University of Minnesota
are working more to earn money that is not sufficient to their living expenses.
The solution we propose is that the University of Minnesota recognizes this issue and moves to
make the crippling economic reality of students a priority as well as make moves to amend the
admissions discriminations that have been created for low income students due to this
increasingly unbearable financial hardship of higher education. In the most simple of terms the
University of Minnesota should commit itself to its self-set values as a public education
institution.

Why Cost-Income Disparity has become a Problem

In the last several years a trend has appeared among universities across the country. Universities
are increasing their enrollment of full-pay students versus those who dependent on some form of
financial aid for their tuition (Vise, 2011). The advantage to universities that enroll more full-pay
students is lowered financial costs on the universities end. Students who are full-pay can pay
their tuition upfront––foregoing any need for grants or financial aid that the school has to pay
those students. If universities are giving a smaller amount of students financial aid, that means
the school can use that money for other areas (​Desrochers, 2010). A disadvantage of accepting
more full-pay students is that already about ​two-thirds of full-time students pay for college with
some sort of financial aid (Baum, 2012). Therefore, universities targeting full-pay students are
only seeing about one-third of students willing to apply. Students with lower incomes are set
back in many facets of their lives––including their academic pursuits––and while in school, have
much less time to study due to sustaining their financial situation. But with the trend of
universities accepting more full-pay students, often times students who aren’t able to pay for
tuition upfront are passed over in acceptance, in favor of the ones who can pay upfront.
Therefore, the urgency of this problem varies on the needs of individual students. Those students
who are not full-pay. The students who will pay the remainder of their tuition, not covered by
grants or aid, out of pocket; whether that could be from outside income via jobs or from family
members. The urgency depends greatly on minimum wage and economic disparity statistics.

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Over 75% of students attending the University of Minnesota work on campus due to their
residential location (UMN, 2014). These students may not have access to a car or feel
uncomfortable taking public transportation. Accordingly, students have to find jobs within
walking or biking distance, and because many students live in dorms or close to campus, finding
a on-campus job is the best option. Yet students using work study may have a double the work.
Looking at the Universities work study policies, the required hourly wage is $9.50 and once the
work study amount awarded ​is meet,​ the student can no longer work at that job unless a facility
member approves the student for further employment (UMN, 2018). Students on work study
may also face restrictions for how many hours they can work a week or the student may find
difficulty in getting enough hours due to their schedule. Depending on the workload of the
student, they may only be able to fit in 10-15 hours a week, and that could still be too much to
handle for the student. Not being able to work enough hours makes it difficult for students to pay
tuition, especially considering it may be their only source of income. As a result, they look to
find employment elsewhere––potentially at the cost of convenience and study time––or they
struggle to live on less than what is acceptable.
College is becoming increasingly less affordable for many students. About 57% of incoming
freshman at the University of Minnesota receive financial aid while the other 43% take out loans
(College). While loans are an acceptable form of payment, the 2-8% interest rates on loans could
reflect economic disparity post college. Students have to think about their expenses post-college
before they’ve even been accepted. They have to take into account the monthly loan payments
they have to factor in their budget. Students may back away from accepting loans and be
discouraged to apply to colleges without another way to pay. While this paper does not focus on
loan repayment conditions, it is important to consider for students and budgets post graduation.
The increased need for our solution will deplenish loan payments for college graduates.
The authors conducted a survey and promoted it via the University of Minnesota Facebook page.
The survey asked students a series of 4 questions which are written out below:
1. What is your major?
2. How many hours per week do you spend on school work?
3. How many hours per week do you spend working?
4. Annual income vs. expected expenses
The survey was sent out to get a baseline of University student’s work and class schedule based
on majors. While the sample size was small, only getting 8 responses, the results showed income
and cost disparity was not singled out by one major. Whether someone was studying Business
and Marketing or Biology, most students had expenses that were $1,000+ what they were
earning from their jobs. The 8 students in the survey spent 6 to 12 hours on school work, while
most of the students spent over 16 hours working a week. The evidence suggests that even
students who put in twice as much work as they do schooling, still don’t make enough to cover
expenses. There is income disparity among all majors. The outlier of the survey was a B.S.
Psychology student who said their income was $1,000+ more than their expenses, while they
spent 12+ hours on schoolwork and 16-20 hours working. The conditions to explain the authors
outlier could be less expenses––family members could be helping them with rent or food––or the
student may have a higher paying job while in college. It is important to note that not all students

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face a cost and income disparity, but a vast majority do. From this survey, a rough ratio could be
made that only 1 out of every 8 students makes more money than they spend at the University.
Along with tuition, students pay for the ever-changing living expenses such as rent, food, books,
and recreation. An article entitled “​As Twin Cities rentals go up, average monthly rents break
$1,000 mark”​ by Jim Buchta of the Star Tribune mentions that the average rent in Minneapolis
surpasses $1,000 per month, which came after a push by Minneapolis developers and city
council to increase population density in the Downtown and North East areas. Despite rent
increases, vacancy is at an all time low, which the author demarcates as evidence of legitimacy in
the increased prices and development, projects have been seeing an average 1,000 new
apartments a year (Buchta, 2014). Despite the Twin Cities being one of the most expensive
markets in the nation, economists consider the Twin Cities to be a “healthy” market due to the
balance of cost and demand. If students are looking to living off-campus they have to consider
how much rent is going to cost them. $1,000 a month is a pricey ticket for one student to pay,
which is why many students have roommates to help reduce that cost, yet dealing with
roommates isn’t always the easiest thing.
Food is an increasing expense--especially when taking into account that students who live in
dorms (very common for first year students) are ​required​ to purchase exorbitantly expensive
meal plans. There are a few different options of meal plans provided by the University, 6
residential meals with 2 other building hall plans (UMN, 2018). The least expensive meal plan is
$1,930 a semester which includes the following:
● 11 meals per week
● $100 of FlexDine
● 10 guest passes
The above meal plan is the bare minimum a meal plan can be and that still equates to nearly
$500 a month in food--a budget high enough to comfortably feed a family of two adults
according to US Department of Agriculture’s February 2018 Official Food Plan. It’s safe to say
the University of Minnesota is severely overcharging for their mandatory meal plans for
dormitory residents. Even if a student has a meal plan it doesn’t mean they have access to food
24/7. The dining halls are only open certain hours of the day and depending on students
schedule, might not line up to student schedules.Students have to budget for extra food in their
dorms for times when the dining hall is closed. Accordingly, on top of a meal plan, students have
to budget in basic side meals as well, which is asking a lot especially considering students are
budgeting nearly $500 for the most basic meal plan, and could feed themselves for half that a
month even when shopping at specialty (not budget) grocers.
Books and recreation are part of college life as well. According to the University of Minnesota’s
website, the budget allowed for books is about $500 a semester. Books typically need to be
bought before class starts since some professors assign readings for the first day. Although, there
have been times where books boughten are not used and therefore money wasted that could have
been spent otherwise. Although these books are mandatory for education, they do strain the
wallets of students before the semester begins. Recreational activities, such as Homecoming and
Spring Jam, are activities that students can participate in if they so please. Some students feel
these activities are a must to fully experience college.

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Student Experience in the Research University
The authors analyzed the spring 2017 Student Experience in the Research University (SERU)
results. SERU is a survey given to undergraduate students asking for a “comprehensive
snapshot” of student experience and expectations for the University. The survey is separated by
the topics of engagement, background, campus climate, co-curriculars, development,
educational experience, evaluation of major, financial concerns, learning opportunities,
satisfaction, plans and aspirations, and time use. Individual colleges gather the information from
their students to analyze changes, especially pertaining to budget allocation for student resources,
along with information such as demographics and major evaluation. SERU is the bridge for
students and campus engagement, along with statistical data and common language that will
ignite conversations about the student experience (University of Minnesota, 2018.)
While the survey does not specifically discuss working hours for students, the financial concerns
section goes into student lifestyle with budget cuts, students’ concern toward debt and paying
next year’s tuition, and scholarship and grants utilization (while we will not discuss these in this
white paper).
Survey Results
Question: How concerned are you about paying for your education next year?
Note: 8,447 answered, all demographics, majors, and income levels
On a four-scale ranking of “not concerned” to “very concerned,” the surveys results were 24%,
30%, 22%, and 24% respectively. The largest response were students who were “somewhat
concerned” at 30%.
While this is actually beneficial from the University perspective, the weight of 24% of students
being “very concerned” is stressful for the University. Those students may not return or will be
victims of income-disparity, student debt, or mental health risks associated with funding lack.
Question: How concerned have you been about paying for your undergraduate education
up to now?
Note: 10,979 answered, all demographics, majors, and income levels
On a four-scale ranking of “not concerned” to “very concerned,” the surveys results were 27%,
32%, 21%, and 21% respectively. The largest response were students who were “somewhat
concerned” at 32%.
University students should be worrying about grades, clubs, experiencing new cultures and
networking. The majority of the responses were in the lower concerning categories, meaning
students are more focused on their experience rather than paying. The authors would like to
explore more which students (with their respective living and financial situations) chose the
“concerned.” It would be interesting to note hours worked and if that influences different
choices.
Question: How concerned are you about your accumulated debt?
Note: 11,001 answered, all demographics, majors, and income levels

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On a four-scale ranking of “not concerned” to “very concerned,” the surveys results were 30%,
21%, 19%, and 30% respectively. The largest response were students polar opposites of “not
concerned” and “very concerned.”
This data is consistent with the authors past research with loan distribution and admitting full pay
students. The nearly ⅓ of students who are “not concerned” may be doing a full-pay plan or
have outside scholarships and grants. Alternatively, the nearly ⅓ of students who are concerned
are part of the low-to-middle income students relying on loans to help pay for school.
Question: How frequently have you worried about debt and financial circumstances?
Note: 10,990 responses, all demographics, majors, and income levels
On a six-scale ranking of “never” to “very often,” the surveys results were 13%, 15%, 20%,
16%, 16%, and 20% respectively. The largest response was “occasionally” and “very often.”
This question is consistent with the question above relating to accumulated debt. While the
questions are extremely similar, this question is more specific and focuses on the change of
behavior toward the student’s debt. The two additional sub-questions of “how frequently have
you skipped or cut down meals” and “how frequently have you cut down on
personal/recreational spending” are included within this main question of emotional toll of debt
collection.
When analyzing the results of the three total questions, the authors are glad to see limited
students reducing or skipping meals, with a majority of students cutting down on
personal/recreational spending. However, there are still 20% of students who are often worrying
about their personal financial situation. That 20% of respondents are probably most distracted in
school, constantly budgeting, reducing their nutrition to ramen noodles and peanut butter
sandwiches, and finally constantly saying no to recreational events due to financial
circumstances.

Factors Contributing to Cost-Income Disparity

The University of Minnesota has seen a recent decrease in the amount of money that the state is
offering them. Maura Lerner (2017), a higher education writer for the Star Tribune, noted that
the University of Minnesota plans to raise tuition for out-of-state students up 15% and in-state
students up 5.5%. The University feels that out-of-state students are paying too little for what the
University feels is a top education. By increasing out-of-state tuition, the University would be
able to gain back some of the funds that they were receiving from the state––an additional $8
million is projected by the University––but the University has stated that they’ve seen a decrease
in out-of-state applications since the hike. While the hike may have been a good idea there are
two main drawbacks:
1. Top students could shy away from enrolling
2. Students enrolling may have a harder time paying
On the quest to apply for colleges, sticker price is always a main factor. The University is part of
the Big Ten Roster––that is, the University of Minnesota participates in the Big Ten athletic
conference, something that increases the “elite” status of universities––so students looking for a
more prestigious college may be attracted to the University of Minnesota. Because of continual
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increases to out-of-state tuition, the University of Minnesota may be pushing away prospective
out-of-state students who aren’t full-pay or who are more budget minded. Potential students have
already stated that they are troubled by the increase and feel the University’s slightly lower
tuition for the Big Ten gave
the University its competitive
edge. The sticker price for the
University is growing and yet
students are not buying so the
University will have to find
the money from in-state
students, or from taxpayers
(Lerner, 2017).
The University has also
increased tuition for in-state
students. Even with a
relatively low tuition hike of
5.5%, students are feeling the
pressure to cover costs and are
taking out more loans in order
to continue their education.
Figure 1 shows the
comparison of student debt to
wage growth. As seen in
Figure 1, the median student
debt from 1990 to 2015 is
increasing at a higher rate than median wages. That is, the money students are making post
college is staying consistent, while the debt they are accruing in their four-plus years of college
is increasing. Figure 1 depicts an important comparison because it shows that median wage is
staying consistent which does not help students to pay off their debt. If debt keeps increasing like
it is, students will not be making enough to break even and it may take longer for them to pay it
off. With the increasing tuition at the University, student debt will continue to rise and with the
economic favorability
The urgency of college acceptance awareness for those who would rely on work study to pay for
tuition is high because before students can even apply for the school, some may not even have
the opportunity to apply additional resources. A ​2011 survey​ by Inside Higher Ed found that
about 35% of admissions directors of colleges are increasingly targeting “full-pay” students
(according to survey, full pay means students who will pay full price to attend) because of the
loss of state funding. The loss is consistent with data from the University of Minnesota that
demonstrates upward trends in the family income of admitted students.
Targeting full-pay students widens the student income-cost disparity. Taking more full-pay
students shifts the student body demographic to a majority which has their expenses covered or
much more secure than those dependent upon some forms of aid. These students are much less
likely to need student jobs, which leaves room for more non-students to work at the University.

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In addition, when the city of Minneapolis made the decision to raise their minimum wage to $15
an hour by 2024 (Nelson, 2017), the University of Minnesota, as a state entity, was exempt from
participating
in the wage
hike. Their
current student
wage sits at
just $9.65 per
hour,
represented in
the figure to
the right that
was taken
from the
University's
Budget and
Finance
webpage , a
stark contrast to the anticipated final minimum wage of the city the University of Minnesota’s
Twin Cities campus is primarily located. When less students are working at the University of
Minnesota, less of the student body is likely advocating for a fair wage. For those students who
do depend upon work to sustain their needs, less evidence for voice to represent them and less
job opportunities on campus--leading to such poor policy decisions as the University of
Minnesota not increasing their wage to track with the more competitive minimum wage of the
City of Minneapolis.
Because of the ways minimum wage laws are structured on and off campus, students may find
off-campus jobs that start at a higher wage more attractive than the lower minimum wage offered
to student workers on campus. The downside to off-campus jobs, however is that they are
typically not as accommodating to academic schedules. Having an off-campus job makes it even
more difficult for students to balance work, life and school. A major benefit of on-campus jobs is
that they can fit the mold for career success and give students real experiences that benefit their
goals. Therefore, students are forced to choose between a higher paying job to cover expenses or
an academically relevant, lesser paying student jobs.
Historically, the University of Minnesota has enrolled more students from the bottom 60% of the
income bracket than from the top 1% of the income bracket. That is, the University focused more
on enrolling lower income families rather than higher paid families. This gave lower income
families a better chance of admission because instead of commonly getting skimmed over, the
University of Minnesota took the time to consider them. As stated similarly in the first section of
this paper though, the University of Minnesota has seen a decrease in the percentage of students
from the bottom 60% of the income bracket. Since the year 2000, the University has seen a slight
increase of the top 1% of the income bracket enrolled, as seen in Figure 2. Figure 2 shows that
the University’s bottom 60% is decreasing at a faster rate than the top 1% is increasing. This
shows that the University is still giving low-income families a first look over the top 1%. While
the gap between these two income brackets is narrowing, the University still has roughly 20% of

8
 their students from the
bottom 60% income
bracket. The reason the
University might be closing
this gap is because students
coming from the top 1%
income bracket can pay
fully for college––that is,
without the need for
financial aid. Enrolling
more students who don’t
require financial aid is
beneficial to the University
because they do not lose
funds by doing so.
Low-income students then
face a harder time paying
for college because they
must take out more loans,
thus creating the income-to-tuition disparity.
Critical literature for the University of Minnesota Board of Regents (BOR) is their annual
progress report which consists of 23 measurements of successful progress each with multiple
sub-categories. This progress report is cited frequently at their meetings and when discussion
breaks out it is frequently kept in line with the various measures on the report. Of these
measurements there are none related to tuition. There is one measure on financial accessibility
which is measured in the report by “median undergraduate debt at graduation”. The measure’s
goal is stated as “grow no faster than CPI [Consumer Price Index]; Correct for federal/state
policy changes”. The hyperlink for further information on “policy changes” is blank. CPI for
college education in the US is growing at an explosive rate. Dept growing at the same rate as the
CPI for college education would be detrimental for students. The admissions prejudices of
admissions could be maintaining the average debt within the University.

Effects of Cost-Income Disparity on Students

In his Fall 2016 State of the University Address, President Kaler stated that students would not
feel the effects of tuition costs because of the University’s long commitment to making available
scholarships and grants to meet the rising
cost of education. The reality that Kaler
clouts to is simply not the case; as
demonstrated by local and national data.
Students are taking out more and more
loans in an attempt to keep up with the
rising cost of higher education (U.S.,
2018). In 2012-13, students on average

9
received about $5,750 in financial aid from all sources which left the students to pay about
$2,900 out-of-pocket according to the College Board’s 2012 publication, “Trends in College
Pricing.” The College Board comments that $1,410 of the $1,850 average published tuition hikes
is covered by financial aid, but that still leaves an extra $440 that students have to come up with.
While this number is lower, finding an extra $400 dollars isn’t always easy, so many students
take out more loans. From 2007-2012, the average increase of published price is 27% while the
increase of net pay price has only been 18% (College Board, 2012). While President Kaler’s
statement is not completely true, it does have some grounds of validity, but an 18% increase in
tuition isn’t something to brush off shoulders. Students are still struggling to pay their tuition.
Low-income students are the most heavily hit by tuition increases. Even from the ground level of
admissions, students who are facing greater economic hardship are disincluded from higher
education. As the cost of college rises, discrimination will only affect more and more
low-income academics; fundamentally results are at odds with notions of public education as
well as being at odds with the University of Minnesota’s own charter and mission statements. If
students are forced to allocate more of their time to work, or aren’t left with any allowance, they
may not be able to experience an important part of higher education.
College, while supposed to include plenty of hard work, is also meant to immerse a student in
new cultures and community and to network with others. If students are forced to allocate more
of their time to work, or aren’t left with any allowance, they may not be able to experience an
important part of higher education. They could become overwhelmed by their workload and have
too much stress to maintain their mental health and engage in important University activities. A
study funded by Payoff, a personal loan company, found that 23% of participants said they
experienced some form of PTSD due to personal finances (Campbell, 2016). The risks could
correlate to University students, especially those who marked “extremely concerned” in the
SERU survey. Graduating college with a degree is stressful enough, to add working a full time
job to that scenario increases stress for students.

Approaches to Ease Cost-Income Disparity for Students

Even before one begins to sort through the multitudes of data sets, legal documents, funding or
structures, it is quite evident that the deficit between student living costs and the amount of
money they make is not something that could be solved with the waving of a magic bureaucratic
wand. As the authors moved forward with their research, it became further evident that this issue
is neither static nor inherent to a public institution but was rather the result of interests and goals
lying elsewhere. The University of Minnesota has not with malicious intent created these
crippling conditions but rather they are symptoms of their benevolent agendas outlined in the
Board of Regents progress report.
As already suggested, the problem of cost-income conditions is likely to persist with the current
level of attention to the issue from significant influencers like the administration and state
legislature. Before any solution is proposed, the gravity of this situation must be fully
understood. That is why education is central to our solution. Regents and administrators know
that there is a deficit in budget coming from the state and that there is a downturn in the value of
education relative to the economies that students have access to post-graduation. In addition, the
public is becoming increasingly aware that these realities are driving a mental health crisis on
10
campuses around the country. The University of Minnesota has prided itself on being an
institution of public education, but if trends show that large amount of the public do not consider
the University of Minnesota for higher education and a sizable number of the people that apply
to the university are rejected based on their financial situation, then the University will likely
face public discontent and will therefore need to address the situation in order to find a solution.
Which brings us to our final proposal:
Rebranding from a research institution to a public institution.
The state legislature, with no input from students or faculty, has placed into the leadership of our
university, the CEO’s, and corporate leaders of the entities benefiting variously off of the
University’s stance of prioritizing research over student’s wellbeing. The board includes ​David
McMillan; Executive Vice President of Minnesota Power, Ken Powell; executive officer of
General Mills, Richard Beeson; executive vice president for Corporate Development at Sunrise
Banks, Steve Sviggum; member board of directors for Security State Bank. To name only a few.
To highlight the relevance of this the University in its self-defined goals of maintaining top level
research, the U has fueled millions of state and tuition dollars into research for these companies.
For instance, it recently made a multi-million dollar investment into plant research under General
Mills patents. It has also engaged in partnerships with these banks, such as TCF, of which
Sunrise is a partner, to open student accounts which accrue student loan debt, which the banks
profit from. The problem lies not with bureaucratic failure, economic disaster, or disparaged
leadership but with a vision inconsistent with one that has the benefit of students in mind.
Academia is not a secret society and should not be treated as such. But with funding directed
towards athletics, research, and corporate partnership, the true value and transparency of public
education is lost. The consequences will be felt with increasingly greater direness as the US
continues to fall behind other countries that have made available the education necessary for a
population to succeed as a critical thinking mass.
While the legislature is an important factor in income disparity, the University has initiated a
Tuition Freeze for the Rochester, Morris, and Duluth campuses in 2016. At this time, there was a
2.5% increase for the Twin Cities campus with additional financial aid help to offset the increase
for some students. (A tuition freeze is merely the government restricting colleges and universities
from raising tuition fees, hoping to improve the financial accessibility for low- to middle-
income students.) “This plan is responsive to the needs of our students and their families while
being market-sensitive,” said Kaler in a 2016 University report about the freeze. “My focus, as
well as the Board’s, is to continue to provide students with an exceptional education at a
world-class research university that is as affordable and accessible as possible.” The author's’
position declares the benefit of tuition freezes and hopes to see one in the Twin Cities campus.
Allocation of funds from the legislature is a promising approach to tuition freeze on the Twin
Cities campus. A March 2018 article from the Star Tribune explained a drafted resolution for
legislative funding for the 2018-2019 school year. The article explains that the legislature
approved $32 million for the current year, but lost $10 million. That $10 million lost will have
“spending cuts and tuition hikes.” There is a hope as University officials are hoping to tap into
the $329 million state budget surplus. The University Board of Regents mentioned that the extra
money would be used to “hold resident undergraduate tuition rates on all campuses flat.”
Unfortunately, the legislature did deny the Board of Regent’s proposal, but mentioned that the

11
“tuition conversation wasn't over.” As the year goes on, the authors hope the University funding
can explore different tactics, such as the student voices, to help implement a tuition freeze.
Conclusion

In this white paper, the authors have discussed the controlling factors relating to income disparity
in University admissions, student expenses such as increasing rent, books, raising tuition, and
meal plans, and finally the relationship between working hours, job location, and income. They
compared two surveys: a team-conducted survey given directly to University of Minnesota
students and a University sponsored survey entitled Student Experience at a Research University.
Finally, they explored different legislative options that could help allocate funds from other
sources to reduce or freeze tuition for students.
With the rising minimum wage in Minneapolis in 2024, students are seeking jobs elsewhere,
taking with them the talent and experience gained from the University. Additionally, off-campus
jobs add extra stress to already struggling students who need to make financial ends meet. The
University’s state entity status dismisses the requirement to pay minimum wage, forcing students
to choose between non-academic focused off campus jobs or potentially major-focused campus
jobs that are convenient and take student success as a priority.
The two surveys, one conducted by the authors and one developed by the University, are
consistent with student attitudes toward debt. The authors discussed the large amount of loans
taken out to reduce the timely burden on tuition, but leaving for accumulated interest. The
surveys portrayed a light of stress and discomfort from students who are balancing work, life,
and a quality education.
The authors positioned themselves in favor for budget analysis to decline or maintain tuition
rates. The authors suggested to work with the Board of Regents on a University rebranding. They
suggested to focus on student tuition and response to the increase, while seeking for additional
funding from other sources. Additionally, the authors briefly mentioned the positive effects of
President Kaler’s tuition freeze and search for the additional $10,000 lost for the 2018-2019
school year. While income disparity is no easy subject to diagnose, this white paper proves that
the authors are discovering new ways to innovate and speak out for the financial situation of a
major students.

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Back Matter

13
References
Aisch, G., Bauchanan, L., Cox, A., & Quealy, K. (2017, January 18). Some colleges have more
students from the top 1 percent than the bottom 60. Find yours. Retrieved February 26,
2018, from
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/18/upshot/some-colleges-have-more-stude
nts-from-the-top-1-percent-than-the-bottom-60.html
Baum, S., & Ma, J. (2012). ​Trends in college pricing 2012​(Rep.). Retrieved February 21, 2018,
from The College Board website:
https://trends.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/college-pricing-2012-full-report-121203
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