VOA教育报道2022--在物价上涨的时代，大学是下一个

In a Time of Rising Prices, College Is Next

Around the world, the coronavirus pandemic has made it difficult for companies to produce and for people to buy goods. As a result, the price of things like meat, cars and fuel has risen.

Something else is set to get more costly¹, too: American colleges and universities.

In all parts of American life, people are paying more for workers, food and energy. As a result, colleges will also charge students more in the 2022-2023 school year.

Jim Hundrieser is vice² president at the National Association of College and University Business Officers. He said that, for several years, college costs have increased somewhat slowly. But now, he said, "there's absolutely going to be an increase in tuition³ and fees."

The University of Virginia has already said it will raise its price for the next school year by almost 5 percent. Another school in Virginia, Virginia Tech, already raised prices for meals by 9 percent to help pay the people who work at campus eating places.

Along with the Virginia schools, colleges including Loyola of Chicago, Texas Christian⁴ University and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington all said prices will go up next year.

The price increases are a change compared to the last two years. The College Board reports that costs have not risen very much during the pandemic. But in the 10 years before that, college prices spiked⁵, or rose sharply⁶. During that time, the cost to attend public colleges rose 28 percent. The cost for private colleges went up 19 percent.

The coming rise in prices is more noticeable because many universities felt pressure to keep prices down during and just before the pandemic.

Those who run schools are worried that students who are in the middle of their studies may be surprised by higher costs.

David Jewell is senior vice president for business affairs at Cleveland State University in the Midwestern U.S. state of Ohio. The yearly cost to attend Cleveland State is about $27,000. The price includes tuition as well as estimated living costs. That is a lot of money, but it is less money than the cost of hundreds of other American colleges.

Jewell told The Hechinger Report that students who attend Cleveland State are often the first in their families to go to college. Many already have trouble paying for higher education. Even a small price increase for the next school year might prevent some students from attending.

Robert Kelchen studies education policy and leadership at the University of Tennessee. He said universities might need to delay repairing school buildings, reduce some services and increase class sizes to deal with their own rising expenses. Increasing tuition prices will not be enough.

"They have to look at other ways to cut costs," he said.

Cutting services will be difficult, another researcher said, because current students need more than before from their universities.

Some students, for example, want mental health services. One study by the University of California – Berkeley and the University of Minnesota found that two times as many students are depressed⁷ compared to the number before the pandemic started. About 1.5 times more students are dealing⁸ with anxiety compared to before the pandemic.

And it is not just students who want more. Professors want to be paid better. So do graduate students who teach part-time. Some universities stopped putting money into workers' retirement⁹ accounts at the start of the pandemic. But they have started to do so again.

Richard Garrett is a researcher at Encoura, a higher education advising business. He said universities and colleges "are being pushed to spend more, just when they don't have any more to spend."

Some of the costs will be covered by states that are spending more on education. For example, leaders in Colorado, Kentucky, Missouri and New York want to add money to the state's higher education budget.

In California, Governor Gavin Newsom said he would add more money to the state's education budget as long as the cost of attending college goes down. California State University has already said it will not raise tuition costs at its 23 campuses next year.

Jewell, of Cleveland State, said universities can "get creative" when trying to save money. They can do things like offer less costly foods at campus eating places.

With all the cost cutting, there is one bit of good news. Universities may finally change the way they spend money. Large state universities that have several campuses may decide to buy items like computers and computer supplies through a central office.

By making a large purchase instead of several smaller purchases, the universities can save money. The University of Massachusetts, which has five campuses, made this change in 2020. It already has saved $34 million.

Some schools may feel pressure to change the kinds of classes they offer. Some will cut classes that do not have enough students. Others will use technology to do more teaching by computer and video, which is less costly than gathering¹⁰ students in person. Some schools may start new programs for high-demand subjects.

Garrett, the researcher from Encoura, said people have been slow to recognize a "cost and productivity¹¹ problem" at universities over the last 30 to 40 years.

"Maybe what's happening now," he said, "will make a difference."

Words in This Story

tuition – n. money that is paid to a school for the right to study there

expense – n. the amount of money that is needed to pay for something

campus n. the buildings that make up a school or university

fee – n. an amount of money that must be paid

anxiety – n. fear or concern about what might happen

graduate - adj. relating to a course of study that comes after a bachelor's degree or a first degree

1 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 tuition   

n.（某一学科的）教学，讲授，指导，学费

参考例句：

• Students can apply for individual tuition.学生可以申请个别指导。
• Is this money enough for the tuition fee?这些钱交学费够吗？

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

6 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

7 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

10 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

11 productivity   

n.生产力，生产率，多产

参考例句：

• Farmers are introducing in novations which increase the productivity.农民们正引进提高生产力的新方法。
• The workers try to put up productivity.工人设法提高生产率。