Students deserve equality on campus, including their finances. Universities should not adjust tuition rates based on majors because it presents too many opportunities for discrimination and unbalanced debt among students.
Adjusting tuition based on specific majors — for example, in-demand fields such as nursing or computer science being less expensive as majors considered “unnecessary” — would result in increased inequality for college students.
According to NPR, income inequality has increased for college students because of high tuition and lack of funding for public universities from state governments. The adjustment of tuition based on majors would limit the majors a student could afford.
Since tuition would either increase or decrease in cost, this would force students to pursue a major based on their financial situation. This discriminates against students financially, which goes against a student’s right to study any major.
“The ability to have a higher education should not be a luxury, but should be a right,” sophomore music composition major Charles Parsons said. “I think there’s a lot of people who have the potential [to attend college] but can’t due to their finances.”
The adjustment of tuition would hinder a student’s chance of obtaining a degree of their choice. Instead, universities will push degrees a student may not want but are pressured to take because of the university’s economically unequal incentives.
For example, universities that decrease tuition for science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors — and increase tuition for non-STEM majors — would cause social inequality.
“STEM programs already have this special treatment in high school,” sophomore music performance major Melodie Fort said. “For [universities] to lower tuition for STEM majors is unfair, to be honest.”
If universities decide to lower tuition for other majors, then universities should lower tuition for every major. This would prevent social inequality among students by promoting every major.
Typically, students that pursue a bachelor’s degree at a four-year public university owe $26,900 in tuition fees on average, according to the College Board. The tuition fee is a flat rate for all students studying different majors.
“Since the prestigious nursing program is so highly competitive at KSU, I think it is fair that the amount of tuition shouldn’t be lowered,” junior international affairs major Sharlene Gachoya said.
Adjustment of tuition would also hurt the enrollment of students at schools within universities, which would affect professors’ salaries. Professors on average made $78,470 in 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
Adjustment of tuition for specific majors would cause schools to redistribute their funding. The decrease or increase in funding would either raise or lower the salary paid to professors from each school. This is unfair to professors and teachers who deserve a reasonable salary.
Overall, universities should not consider the adjustment of tuition based on majors because it puts a financial barrier between students and their pursuit of their dream major. If KSU did charge students differently based on their major, they encourage discrimination towards lower-income students and create a false hierarchy of fields of study.
