Students weigh in on tuition increase

For College of Charleston student Crystal Frost, the letter from the college explaining the increase in tuition was just something new to deal with.

"I guess I'm just going to have to accept the increase. This seems to go on every year," she said.

The common attitude among a small group of students interviewed by The Post and Courier could be termed indifferent. Some weren't aware of the increase, and when they were informed of it, they took the news nonchalantly. To remain at the college, there is very little they can do but pay the tuition, they said.

Frost isn't wrong about the frequency of tuition increases. Over the past five years, the college's tuition has increased 35.4 percent. The tuition went from $6,202 for in-state students in 2004 to the currently proposed $8,988 for in-state undergraduates. Tuition increased an average of 7 percent each year, since 2004, so this new tuition increase seems to be nothing new and following the trend.

Even with these current proposed increases, the College of Charleston's in-state undergraduate tuition is still several thousand dollars less than that of some public South Carolina colleges, such as Clemson University and Winthrop University.

Hart Moede, a senior at the College of Charleston, said, "If it's necessary, I guess they have to do it. It is an odd time to do it, since students have less money due to the economy."

For some lucky students, such as Lane Huntley, the increase won't have much of an effect. Lane said he receives enough money from academic scholarships that the increase won't have that big an impact on him.

However, Vanessa Martin and some other out-of-state students, particularly will feel the pressure of the increase. Along with travel expenses, Martin, as a transfer student, also has to complete another year of schooling to fulfill the college's mandatory credits that she didn't complete at her previous university.