California Tuition Hike

Three Classes, Three Changes



Diapers, groceries, gas, daycare and rent are household expenses I have to worry about. Now, like health care costs, the price of California college tuition is skyrocketing, making it even more difficult for me to better myself with a higher education. Last year, tuition at California community colleges went up an astounding 60 percent and another 37 to 40 percent in the 2003-04 school year. Students of all income levels are affected by this increase. The California tuition hike will gradually have many effects on the composition of the student body.

One of the effects of the composition changes to the student body is likely to be an increase in the number of lower income students. The California tuition hike affected the lower income students in a good way. More of these students now qualify for and receive more financial aid for tuition, daycare, books, and food. Financial aid is implemented to primarily assist the lower income students. Therefore, low-income students who want to attend college are presented with a greater opportunity than middle-class students. Richardson states “middle- and upper-income students are, carrying the tuition load for lower-income students”(138). Ironically when middle-class students have children they sometimes fall into the lower income tax bracket. If middle-class students continue to contribute to lower income student’s education there will not be sufficient income for their own children to attend college without the state’s financial assistance.

Another effect of the composition change to the student body is the decrease in the number of middle-class students. The California tuition increase affected the middle- class students in a very negative manor. Middle-class independent students that go to work in order to pay for their own college either, work more and go to school less or they don’t attend college at all. These students have to work longer hours and take...