skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

U.S. gender wage gap grows for the first time in a decade; Trump has embraced NC's Mark Robinson, calling him 'Martin Luther King on steroids; Volunteers sought as early voting kicks off in MN; Women's political contributions in congressional races fall short of men's.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rising threats of political violence, a Federal Reserve rate cut, crypto industry campaign contributions and reproductive rights are shaping today's political landscape.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Increased Student Fees to Pay Off MA Campus Debt Raise Alarm

play audio
Play

Thursday, April 21, 2022   

Public higher-ed students, staff and faculty are shedding light on the growing problem of campus debt held by state colleges and universities, and its effect on student fees.

While the state used to pay for building costs on public college and university campuses, individual campuses more recently have had to take out loans to finance building projects. Revenue from auxiliary services such as student room and board often go toward debt payments.

Joanna Gonsalves, psychology professor at Salem State University and member of the Massachusetts State College Association Salem Chapter, said fees have been going up to make up the difference.

"These debt payments annually range anywhere from a few million to UMass Amherst, which pays $95 million a year in debt service, and it's unfair," Gonsalves argued. "We feel like it's a generation of students that are being taxed for the buildings rather than the taxpayers."

Gonsalves noted when students were not living in the dorms during the pandemic, the loss of revenue brought the issue of campus debt to the forefront. She added the UMass system owes $3 billion, and other state universities owe $1.2 billion. Groups are calling for more state investments, as well as increased taxes for the Commonwealth's wealthiest residents.

Tyler Risteen, a junior sociology major at Framingham State University, said rates of enrollment at her university have been on the decline.

"Me, personally, and I know a lot of my friends who I go to school with, they chose these state schools because it's supposed to be cheaper," Risteen explained. "The government is supposed to be helping us, but in reality, it's just the schools taking out loans and then us paying for those loans."

Gayathri Raja, a sophomore economics major at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, said there is a sentiment colleges are raising tuition and fees out of greed, but she thinks there is a larger structural problem.

"They're allowed to sit on a good amount of assets, despite having so much debt," Raja pointed out. "And that's not even a college's fault. That's just how the financial system is constructed, and it's kind of more so up to the state to step in and help with the unbelievable amount of debt that state colleges are in."

She said voters in November get to approve or disapprove what's known as the Fair Share Amendment, which would increase the tax rate by four percentage pointed for those making more than a million dollars a year, and put those funds toward education. Opponents worry such a tax would cause high earners to leave the state.

Raja added a bill before the General Court, the Cherish Act, would also allocate more state funding to public higher ed.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Recipients of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Grant can now access funding to drive financing for thousands of climate-focused and clean energy initiatives. (bilanol/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Michigan's most vulnerable communities are receiving federal funding to fight the devastating effects of climate change. It's part of the $27 billion …


Health and Wellness

play sound

September is Health Literacy Month, and a Denver-based group is working to help health professionals break a persistent pattern of discrimination …

Environment

play sound

A new report contends fossil fuel funding has biased Columbia University's climate research. The report, by two Columbia students, shows the …


Alabama releases roughly 220,279 men and 78,247 women from its prisons and jails each year. (Chad Robertson/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An Alabama woman is on a mission to help people who've been incarcerated for decades successfully transition back into society. The mission to …

Health and Wellness

play sound

In North Carolina, the gap between Medicaid reimbursement rates and the actual cost of dental care has reached a crisis point, impacting both …

So far in 2024, community health centers in North Dakota have screened 11,580 patients for food insecurity. Through those screenings, more than three thousand box meals have been distributed. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

September is Hunger Action Month. In North Dakota, it isn't just food banks trying to help underserved populations get nutritious items. Health …

Environment

play sound

Marine biologists conducting deep dives near five California islands are collecting data they hope will strengthen the case for ending gillnet fishing…

Environment

play sound

Researchers at Iowa State University are taking aim at the huge amount of energy used by data centers, now and in the future. They have developed a …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021