Earlier this year, I blogged about how senior citizens are getting free tuition at the state colleges like UNLV and UNR. I stated it was costing the university system money:
http://lasvegasbadger.blogspot.com/2011/05/free-tutition-at-unlv-and-unr.html
Well, today, someone was listening as the Board of Regents for the Nevada Higher Education Board reversed course and now took away the free tuition from seniors. From the Reno Gazette-Journal: The Nevada Board of Regents agreed Thursday to suspend indefinitely free tuition for senior citizens on its seven university and college campus.
Vice Chancellor Jane Nichols said the seniors are taking seats that could be filled by paying students. If all those seats were filled by paying students, she said the university could gain $1.2 in additional tuition.
A vote by Regent Jason Geddes failed on a tie vote, then a motion by Regent Kevin Melcher to end the free ride for those 62 and older was adopted.
“Be careful of what you wish for,” said Regent Jack Schofield, 88, who voted for keeping the program and then joined in the vote against it.
http://www.rgj.com/article/20110616/NEWS02/110616054/Nevada-university-system-suspends-free-tuition-senior-citizens?odyssey=tabtopnewstextFRONTPAGE
This is a good policy. When times were good, no problem in giving senior citizens free tution, especially since many of the seniors in the State were probably long time citizens of Nevada and helped build the higher education system.
However, today, not only do the seniors cost money for the colleges, many problem have not been life long citizens of the State and have contributed less to the higher education system.
So, the regents did a good thing. Now if they can only do something lazy professors like Dina Tius who is doing her best to screw the State of Nevada.
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Umm, yeaah. But in this case, maybe genital warts may relate to this article in some strange way.
ReplyDeleteThe statement that senior citizens are depriving classroom seats to paying students is incorrect. The free tuition for senior citizens has always been on a "space available" basis. If a paying student wanted to take a class, he would have a higher priority than the senior citizens and would not have been denied a seat. Thus the argument that the university will save money by discontinuing tuition waivers for the elderly is also incorrect.
ReplyDeleteDo you feel in general that student discounts and reduced prices for young people are also offering an undeserved a "free ride" similar to that given to senior citizens? Or is your ire only aroused by freebies given to the elderly?