Another AUM Editorial

Similar to the other one, but this one was for Ken Hare's class:






Auburn University Montgomery has once again proved that there is a strong disconnect between the administration and the student body.

AUM once offered a three-pay and four-pay payment plan. As difficult as paying tuition has become, these payment plans offered students and their families an alternative to bank loans and student loans.

Last year, and giving students a rather short notice, AUM enforced a payment plan that required 50 percent of total tuition for a semester to be paid upfront. Following a payment of 50 percent, students were required to pay the remaining balance over a two-month period.

Now, AUM has taken more flexibility away from students despite continued tuition increases.

The current payment plan required 50 percent to be paid by Jan. 5, 2007. The remaining balance will no longer be paid over a two month time period. Students must now make the full payment by Jan. 14, 2007, or they will not be able to keep their registered class schedule.

Currently, 12 credit hours cost $1912, including fees.

AUM has offered an alternative, but not in the way of a payment plan. The alternative is a loan program.

Basically, AUM is all, but forcing students and families to pay tuition via bank loan. Most use the payment plan in order to avoid taking out a loan and/or the hassle of going through a bank.

Enrollment has not increased despite a strong campaign to do so with billboards and television commercials. According to aum.edu, enrollment for undergraduate students was 4300 for the fall semesters of 2005 and 2006.

According to a 2006 issue of the Montgomery Advertiser, AUM spent $20,000 on an independent study of people’s perception of AUM. Five hundred people were surveyed either via phone, online surveys, or interviews. One of the main issues of the surveys was “internal and external communications.”

Despite the independent study hearing of internal and external communications, AUM gave students less than a two-month notice of the new reformed payment plan.

Yes, AUM should do everything in its power to appeal to as many people as possible, but when an institution is in heavy debt, the school cannot afford to go deeper in debt.

According to an Aumnibus January 2006 article, “AUM housing is $1.9 million in debt with no money in reserve.” What is likely to happen when no money is in reserve? Raise the rates. After all, a raise to an “interim” president can be justified in this time of an across the board increase of costs on students.

Most of us know how popular sports are in this state. There is so much popularity that sports, preferably college, has the second largest base only behind Southern Baptist. AUM recently made a strong push to move AUM athletics into NCAA Division II status. While serious talks of the move began, the Athletic Department of AUM was not making their ends meet. According to documents obtained by the Aumnibus, as of May 1, AUM’s Athletic Department remains $400,000 in debt.

The move to the NCAA level would more than likely not raise morale at AUM. In fact, the move might cause a decline.

Think about it.

The majority of the students attending AUM came for academic reasons. Yes, the thought of AUM becoming an NCAA institution sounds great, but the sports we have are not truly supported by the students. All a student has to do is show their student identification and can watch a sporting event for little to no cost. The only time the gym seems to be full is at graduation or whenever a United States president stops for a visit.

How can AUM fund the move to the NCAA, when an infamous parking fee is regularly presented to go towards maintaining school parking lots? Throw in the numerous tuition increases and the situation looks misleading to the student body. Again, this does not add up.

The AUM administration appears to be going in the opposite direction of its priorities. Priorities should be taken care of first. Without the priority (students) there would not be an AUM.