Rising Tuition in the US Every Spring, US university administrators gather to dis

Rising Tuition in the US

Every Spring, US university administrators gather to discuss the next academic year's budget. They consider faculty salaries, utility costs for dormitories, new building needs and repairs to old ones. They run the numbers and conclude - it seems, inevitably - that, yet again, the cost of tuition must go up.

According to the US's College Board, the price of attending a four-year private university in the US rose 81 percent between l993 and 2004 （46）In 2005 and 2006, the numbers continued to rise.

According to university officials, college cost increases are simply the result of balancing university checkbooks. “Tuition increases at Cedarville University are determined by our revenue needs for each year,” said the university's president. Dr Bill Brown. “Student tuition pays for 78 percent of the university's operating costs.” Brown's school is a private university that enrolls about 3,100 undergrads and is consistently recognized by annual college ranking guides like US News and World Report's and The Princeton Review's. （47）

Tuition at private universities is set by administration officials and then sent for approval to the school's board of trustees（董事）. （48）This board oversees（监管）all of a state's public institutions. John Durham, assistant secretary to the board of trustees at East Carolina University（ECU）, explains that state law says that public institutions must make their services available whenever possible to the people of the state for free. Durham said that North Carolina residents only pay 22 percent of the cost of their education. （49）State residents attending ECU pay about US $10,000 for tuition, room and board before financial aid.

Amid the news about continued increases in college costs, however, there is some good news. Tuition increases have been accompanied by roughly equal increases in financial aid at almost every university. To receive financial aid, US students complete a formal application with the federal government. The federal government then decides whether an applicant is eligible（有资格的）for grants or loans. （50）

A The application is then sent to the student’s university, where the school itself will decide whether free money will be given to the student and how much.

B At public universities, however, tuition increases must also be approved by a state education committee, sometimes called the board of governors.

C The school currently charges US $23,410 a year for tuition.

D Many American people are simply unable to pay the growing cost of food.

E That’s more than double the rate of inflation.

F The state government covers the rest.