Spring Break
Editorial: Stop the hidden charges
Editorial Board
Issue date: 9/4/08 Section: Opinions
The use of loans and grants allows students to pay for not only tuition and housing, but all those pesky fees that really add up in a hurry.
The upside to paying those fees is that they are charged to our student accounts and that imaginary money called credit absorbs the cost.
However, there are unavoidable costs that catch students by surprise, and the Turning Point ResponseCard is yet another hidden cost to college. The ResponseCard is a hand-held remote that sends student responses to the instructor's computer.
The device is used to receive answers to tests and quizzes, and to gage students' lecture comprehension by collecting easily attainable feedback through the Turning Point computer program. Classes with Turning Point are required to purchase the ResponseCard keypad at the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union bookstore for $35.
This fall, 26 classes will use the program in both the psychology and education departments combined.
The effectiveness of the program is yet to be seen, but the $35 has to come out of students' pockets. Financial aid refunds could cover the cost, but students' would have to wait a week and hope the instructor doesn't mind the delay.
Spanish workbooks are another one of the several hidden cost examples. Paying $50 for a book that cannot be returned or resold is a tad disheartening, but having to stand in line and fork up $50 for just the workbook is ridiculous.
The Department of Foreign Languages does offer the workbook in the resource center for students to photocopy needed pages, which is a good reason for not requiring an immediate purchase through student fees.
Having the workbooks and the ResponseCards in textbook rental would be more efficient because student schedules are used to fill the orders. Therefore, the class enrollment is verified before distribution, and the cost could be added into the Textbook Rental Fee to avoid student inconvenience.
Even a note in the course catalog would be nice so that students would at least know about the expense and plan ahead for it.
The upside to paying those fees is that they are charged to our student accounts and that imaginary money called credit absorbs the cost.
However, there are unavoidable costs that catch students by surprise, and the Turning Point ResponseCard is yet another hidden cost to college. The ResponseCard is a hand-held remote that sends student responses to the instructor's computer.
The device is used to receive answers to tests and quizzes, and to gage students' lecture comprehension by collecting easily attainable feedback through the Turning Point computer program. Classes with Turning Point are required to purchase the ResponseCard keypad at the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union bookstore for $35.
This fall, 26 classes will use the program in both the psychology and education departments combined.
The effectiveness of the program is yet to be seen, but the $35 has to come out of students' pockets. Financial aid refunds could cover the cost, but students' would have to wait a week and hope the instructor doesn't mind the delay.
Spanish workbooks are another one of the several hidden cost examples. Paying $50 for a book that cannot be returned or resold is a tad disheartening, but having to stand in line and fork up $50 for just the workbook is ridiculous.
The Department of Foreign Languages does offer the workbook in the resource center for students to photocopy needed pages, which is a good reason for not requiring an immediate purchase through student fees.
Having the workbooks and the ResponseCards in textbook rental would be more efficient because student schedules are used to fill the orders. Therefore, the class enrollment is verified before distribution, and the cost could be added into the Textbook Rental Fee to avoid student inconvenience.
Even a note in the course catalog would be nice so that students would at least know about the expense and plan ahead for it.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
student
posted 9/04/08 @ 5:31 AM CST
I also get really tired of having projects assigned that require students to spend a substantial amount of money in order to receive a decent grade. I spent almost $150 on supplies for a class of children for a practicum course in the child development lab. (Continued…)
It costs
posted 9/04/08 @ 6:41 AM CST
Education costs -- *someone* has to pay for it. Your education is already heavily, heavily subsidized by the state.
That said, I hate the clicker idea. (Continued…)
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