Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

                            Matt Dulin    Barrett Goldsmith    Zach Lee 
                Jim Parsons            Christian Schmidt           Blake Whitaker

In the know

If it already wasn't understood, here it is simply: Tuition and fees are going up at UH. Students might as well get used to it.

But what they shouldn't get used to is missing out on the decision-making process that prompts such increases, like a proposed $9.79 per semester credit hour hike in designated tuition, outlined before some student leaders Tuesday. That would put the per-hour cost at more than $120.

While committees that handle tuition and fees include student representation -- Student Government Association senators and officers -- they may miss out on genuine student input.

Forums need to be held more often and should include the general student population. Moreover, details about the increases need to be more readily available at forums.

Students are smart. We understand that a quality education costs money. But show us how, and show us where the money's going.

With The University of Texas and Texas A&M University being audited by a state agency after significant tuition increases, it's not unfair to ask UH to be open about its financial matters to the people footing the bill. With new tuition-setting powers, universities need to be more accountable to students. 

It's good to have the committees work the way they do. But they need to convene more often and include more students -- more voices. Committees that handle tuition and fee increases would be wise to consult focus groups composed of more UH students with various backgrounds.

The decisions they make will be more effective, and the people they serve will be less disgruntled. 

Students probably won't effect change, but at least they'll know about an increase well before it happens rather than after the fact or weeks before its approval. Administrators understand the forces that move the University's machinery, but very few students do. That's what needs to change.

Send comments to dccampus@mail.uh.edu