May issue.pdf - Wingspan

12 Wi n g s pa nWingspanopinionMay 4, 2009lccc.wy.edu/wingspanCo-EditorsChris ArnesonTiffany RazoEditorialKolby VerbeckOnline EditorTracey RosenlundDeputy Online EditorKristine JacksonManaging EditorCody BaileyCampus EditorJurri Saddler Jr.Co-News EditorJeff EatmonCo-News EditorCaitlyn BeleyFeatures EditorDominic BenintendeCo-A&E EditorWendi PorterCo-A&E EditorJeff FrerichDeputy A&E EditorStephon ParkerCo-Sports EditorNichole GradyCo-Sports EditorTravis ShermanPhotography EditorHouston WoodhouseGraphics/Layout EditorAdvisersRosalind SchliskeJ. O’BrienNationalPacemakerFinalistPhone: (307) 778-1304Fax: (307) 778-1177wingspan@lccc.wy.edu©2009Wingspan (ISSN 1093-2844) isa monthly newspaper for LaramieCounty Community Collegeand the community, writtenand edited by journalismstudents with contributionsfrom other students, collegefaculty and staff membersand community residents.The opinions expressed arethose of the authors and donot necessarily reflect theopinions of the staff, studentsor faculty of the college.Wingspan is a member of theAssociated Collegiate Press.It is printed by CheyenneNewspapers, Inc.Contributions PolicyWingspan welcomes lettersprovided they are not libelous,profane or otherwiseunprintable. Letters shouldbe typed, double-spaced,signed by the author andinclude a phone number forverification. A copy on disk ispreferred.Wingspan reservesthe right to edit all letterssubmitted because of availablespace or the reasonsstated above. Contributionsmade before Sept. 7 may besubmitted to:WingspanLaramie County CommunityCollege1400 East College DriveCheyenne, Wyo. 82007My c o l l eg eta k e s m o r eLate last year,the WyomingCommunityCollege Commissionhad the power to raisetuition at all statecolleges—and it did—tobe effective in fall 2009.On April 15, theLaramie CountyCommunity Collegetrustees had the powerto add a new fee—andthey did it, too. In orderto finance a $7.1 millioncafeteria and residencehall remodeling, youwill see an increase of $8a credit hour in the fall.On May 20, the LCCCtrustees have the powerto increase the technologyfee—and they willprobably do that—byincreasing it from $10 to$14.50 a credit hour.But the worst may beyet to come.When is enough,enough? How much istoo much?On April 22, LCCC’spresident, with the authorizationof the LCCCtrustees, proposed atthe WCCC meetingto make students paytuition for every credithour they take, insteadof capping it at 12 credithours as is currentlydone.The chair of commissioners,AnnChambers-Noble, saidat the meeting the issuewill not be discusseduntil the October WCCCmeeting. The WCCCmust continue caps ontuition for the 2009–10academic year, sostudents wouldn’t see araise until the 2010-11academic year.LCCC’s president,Dr. Darrel Hammon,said capping tuition at12 credit hours is unfairto both the teachersand the students and isdisadvantageous to thecollege’s financial situation.He also said mostcommunity colleges inthe nearby area don’tcap tuition.Chambers-Noblesaid she wanted to deferthe discussion because(1) the commissionneeded more information;(2) she was unsurewhether the studentsshould be held responsiblefor fixing thefinancial crisis; and (3)it is not the correct timeof year to alter tuition.Hammon said facultymembers at LCCCare paid to teach 30credit hours a year.Hammon toldChambers-Noble atthe April 22 meeting hehad asked his faculty ifthey would be willingto teach 15 credit hoursa semester, but be paidfor only 12. He said,“I did have one facultymember raise theirhand.”Hammon also said60 percent of studentsare enrolled part timeand, therefore, wouldnot be affected by thepossible raise in tuition,and the other 40 percentwould essentiallybe better off withoutcapped tuition rates.The president said:“Are we penalizingstudents who are taking24 credits [a semester]?Maybe. But I wouldsay, ‘How much are yougetting out of these 24credits?’”He said it is rare fora student to take somany credit hours anddo well. He added LCCChas quality faculty andthe college’s job is tomake sure students bethe best students theycan be.While some studentsmay be unableto handle more than 12credit hours a semester,the administrationshould remember LCCCis a two-year institution,and it takes more than12 credit hours a semesterto graduate withintwo years. In actuality,a student would needto take at least 16 credithours a semester tograduate in two years.While Hammon saidthis tuition hike couldpenalize students taking24 credit hours a semester,it penalizes anystudent intending toearn a two-year degreein two years.Hammon also saidthe tuition increasewould help the collegefinancially by raisingrevenue. He said ifstudents are taking 18credit hours a semester,but paying for only 12,“I still have expenses for18 credit hours.”Because 60 percentof the college’s billis paid by the state,taxpayers may not betoo happy that studentsare taking more credithours than they arepaying for, Hammonsaid.Although sometaxpayers may find thatunsettling, other taxpayers,especially LCCCalumni, understandthe college promoteshigher education and ahigher standard of livingin Laramie County.Making students payhigher tuition lowersthe accessibility of collegefor some.According toHammon, very fewcolleges in the RockyMountain statescap their tuition. Hesaid some have theirstudents pay for everycredit hour whileothers charge tuition“in windows,” i.e.different rates for 1–6credits; 7–12 and 13–16.Commission ChairChambers-Noble saidLCCC needs to remaincompetitive, and raisingtuition to match nearbycolleges may not be theway to do that.Chambers-Noblewas adamant that thedecision not be madenow for several reasons:(1) the commissionneeds information fromall seven communitycolleges, not just LCCC;(2) the required datawould be unavailableuntil at least July; and(3) tuition can be discussedonly once a yearin October.She also encouragedHammon to followthrough on his promiseto send questionnairesto students to collecttheir opinions on theproposed tuition hike.“If we are raisingtuition, and [LCCC is]raising fees as well, wemay be having an impacton our students,”she said. “We’re in arecession. So are they.”Chambers-Noblesaid she was unsurethat “making up ourmoney on the backs ofour students” was theright approach.Hammon said if tuitionwere raised and enrollmentin some classesdeclined, the same ruleswould continue to applyfor possible class cancellations.He said the classeswould still be carefullyresearched to seewhy enrollment wasdown and what couldbe done. Such cancellationscould have animpact upon opportunitiesfor communitymembers and localbusinesses and theiremployees.LCCC prides itselfon being a multifacetedinstitution. Studentsare encouraged to exploreand expand theirhorizons. Sometimesa student enrolls inan extra class becauseof a specific personalinterest or passion, i.e.physical education, art,choir, wind ensemble,computer applications,to name a few. Othertimes, a student enrollsto experience new challengesor a new area ofinterest.This removal ofthe tuition cap woulddiscourage that kind ofexperimentation.LCCC advertisesitself as “My college ismore.” We fear it haschanged to “My collegetakes more.”