The following piece, written by the editorial editors, reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board.
It's a crisp autumn afternoon as tour guides lead flocks of potential RedHawks in and out of pristine brick structures. With the leaves falling, the campus looks just like the brochures. But there's an unexpected crunch.
What are those fancy remodeling plans costing students? Do guides tell people they're going to be paying for it? Is that a part of the recruiting spiel? At this point, signing on for four years at Miami comes with some baggage, in the form of $656 million.
This number is startling and worrisome. We're pretty sure we learned something in Introduction to Economics about avoiding those negative balances. But with remodeling projects and construction and brand new residence halls on every corner, we can see the dollars wilting away everywhere we look. The debt has worsened drastically in the last decade. In 2002, it was $53.2 million. That fancy schmancy student center with a $53 million price tag is the prized gem of the debt. A second phase of Armstrong will cost $18.8 million. And here's the catch - we're paying for it.
Miami began charging undergrads for Armstrong before the paint was dry. An extra $9.16 per credit hour - or $110 for a full-time student - was added to Bursar accounts when Armstrong opened a year ago.
We don't remember getting a heads-up about that; but, to be fair, we didn't ask. We all thought Armstrong was paid for and we didn't think it would be our responsibility to come up with the extra change. Back in July, complaints about these extra fees led Miami to repay $205,244 to students taking summer classes. Miami reimbursed those fees because students didn't know where their money was going. Our student fee will add up to $880 over four years. As much as we adore our student center, as much as we brag about the fake Panera and the comfy chairs, it's a bit extravagant. But, that's the Miami way. The Miami way is building up an elaborate physical appearance, spending an extra $12,000 to reupholster chairs and buying lamps that each cost $1,035.
We get it; we know Armstrong has a purpose. We know student centers cost money. We know Ohio University spent $60 million on their new student center in 2004 and Ohio State University's student union cost $119 million back in 2010. Both charge students a fee, but neither are as high as Miami's fees, according to an article in the Dayton Daily News. We question what else could've been done with that huge budget. Maybe we should've looked for coupons for the lamps.
In that same article, James Brock, a Miami economics professor, says the budget for Armstrong struck him as "obscene excess."
"It's just a matter of balance here," he said. "There's got to be some reasonable middle ground on this between spending every last nickel and spending nothing."
We agree. Where's the balance? Since out-of-state students at Miami pay more than double what Ohio residents pay for tuition, we wonder if more will be recruited. We wonder if college tuition will continue to go up because of spending like this.
Miami is a non-profit, which is worth highlighting because it often reads like a business. The mission is not to make money. The purpose is to educate. Staying afloat financially is important, but the focus should be on academics.
The big problem we're seeing is that the conversation always seems to be about the image of Miami, how pretty it is and how we can make it more pretty.
But, is that what our education is really about? We shudder at what's coming next. What's the payment plan? We'd like to know before any more comes out of our pocket.