Educational standards should not be sacrificed

Chadron State College boasts the lowest advertised rate for the 2011-12 academic year at $4,330, according to a survey of tuition and fee rates among 36 four-year colleges and universities in the Midwest.

The report, prepared by the University of Wyoming in November of 2011, includes eight states neighboring Nebraska and bases its calculations on a 24-credit academic year for graduate students at resident rates.

Wayne State and the University of Nebraska-Kearney rank as the second and third lowest rates at $5,316 and $5,987 respectively.

Chadron State comes in fifth in room and board charges, however, behind three institutions in North Dakota and one in Utah, the survey states. This time, 41 institutions in the surrounding region were examined and compared.

The survey stated that, for the 2011-12 academic year, CSC charges $5,310 for a double-occupancy room and on-campus meal plan (assuming an 18-21 meal per week plan is purchased).

The least expensive option compared for room and board is Utah’s Weber State University at $4,202.

Thus, from the data collected, Chadron State ranks quite well in tuition and fee charges, and only slightly less so in room and board fees.

The question, then, is whether CSC skimps on quality to deliver such an economically-affordable higher education experience to students.

Hopefully, Chadron State does not sacrifice quality for affordability. Some students of Chadron may be equally as qualified for an education as those at Harvard. However, these students may have more limited resources.

Students may have chosen CSC for its affordability, but that does not mean that they aren’t interested in getting just as good of an education as any other school. College is not meant for going through the motions of four years in order to get a degree. College is about learning and expanding, and choosing an affordable school should not mean sacrificing that.