University increases tuition, unrest

By Adam Hinton

University increases tuition, unrest

This fall, University of Louisville students will be faced with the first of four tuition increases after nearly a year of heated debate.

Late in September 2001, the Board of Trustees met and approved an initial tuition increase plan of 6% for the 2002-2003 school year and an additional 6% for the 2003-2004 school year, bringing the tuition up to $2,016 and $2,136 per semester, respectively. This brought the rates above and beyond the University of Kentucky’s $1,987 and Western Kentucky University’s $1,560.

As the Spring 2002 semester wound to a close, a proposal to impose a $125 athletic fee in addition to the tuition increases was quietly and strategically placed on the table. An attempt was made to pass the proposal through the necessary committees in less than two working days. The proposal, however, became known to the public and produced a vehement response from students and faculty alike. Dr. Rick Feldhoff, professor of biochemistry at the U of L School of Medicine and chair of the Faculty Senate, went so far as to call the proposal for an athletic fee “taxation without representation” in a letter he penned to the U of L community. The fiery sentiment spread throughout the campus as students demanded their voices be heard.

President Shumaker quickly called together a committee of students, faculty, and staff to discuss a compromise to the proposal. The result of the committee was another incremented tuition increase that would span the next four years, increasing the tuition by $25, $35, $45, and $50 per year, respectively. While president Shumaker described the solution as a “wonderful compromise that should have broad support on campus”, students aren’t exactly warming up to the idea of paying $288 more next year and $548 more the following year in tuition costs.

While many students have been upset by the sharp increase in tuition, some may not understand the reason behind the increase. The university administration has touted the increases as being one step in supporting the “Challenge for Excellence”, the university’s strategic plan to become one of the nation’s top metropolitan universities. However, bailing the athletic department out of debt also seems to be a large factor in the increase.

Until 1997, the U of L athletic department operated as a completely independent entity from the university, using revenue from athletics to cover its own expenses and actually amassing a huge surplus of cash.

What happened? One needs only to look around at U of L’s athletic facilities and programs to understand.

Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, U of L’s virtually brand new football stadium, ran a bill of just over $78 million, $19 million over the projected cost. On top of this was the construction of Cardinal Park, which plays host to the U of L soccer teams, softball team, and field hockey team. Further still are the multimillion dollar contract buyouts of former coaches Ron Cooper and Denny Crum- who was replaced by one of the highest paid coaches in college basketball history: Rick Pitino.

Another drain on the athletic department’s budget has stemmed from the renewed effort to update and improve the nonrevenue programs of many women’s sports. In addition to adding two new women’s sports, softball and rowing, the department has increased spending by almost $3 million per year on women’s sports.

When asked about the increased spending, athletic director Tom Jurich commented, “If you want to be on the same playing field as the top programs in the country, then you have to spend the kind of money we are spending.”

Indeed, U of L’s sports programs seem to have a brighter outlook than they have in many years. The football team has won the Conference USA two years in a row and capped this season’s 10-2 season with a victory over BYU in the Fiesta Bowl. The men’s basketball team finished the season with a much improved 19-13 record and, with the recruiting power of Coach Pitino, have high hopes for next year.

The U of L field hockey team was ranked as one of the top teams in the nation last year, defeating the likes of Duke University, among others. Trager Stadium, the home of the field hockey team in Cardinal Park, has even been selected as the location for the 2002 NCAA Field Hockey Final Four.

As Jurich pointed out, this success did not come without a price tag, and now the students are realizing this. The university and the athletic department have formulated a plan that should bring the budget of the department from its estimated $2 million operating deficit in 2002 to an operating surplus in the year 2007. The tuition increases are merely a small part of this plan.

The university’s financial aid department has confirmed that all full tuition scholarships awarded before the increases will be raised accordingly. This will no doubt come as a great relief to students on scholarship, who would otherwise be shelling out an additional $568 per year by the year 2005.