Out of state tuition is the fee or cost incurred by students from other states. The quest for education often has made students travel far from their home towns to pursue their choice of career in distant college and universities. The term “out of state tuition” has often been used to refer to the cost of tuition or college fees incurred by students from outside their home states. According to Bozick and Miller (2014) o ne outstanding attribute or feature of out of state tuition is that it’s highly expensive. Students attending college or universities from outside their home states are required to pay higher fees as compared to in-state students. Webber (2017) maintains that t he premise is anchored on as a sign of appreciation to locally-based students who partake in tax payment within their state, thus the lowered tuition fees. The proposition of out-of-state fees is not anchored on any logical education reason, but a state strategy to exploit students from other states and thus should be prohibited.
The primary function of any government and state is to make education affordable, accessible, and compulsory for all. Jaquette and Curs (2015) maintain that i t is within the mandate of any government to ensure that the school stands firm as the country’s pillar of growth and development. At the same time, all citizens are equal, and those aspiring for higher learning in any university or college should be given sufficient support financially, socially, and politically ( Youtube, 2016) . It thus calls for the enactment of relevant legislation that makes fee payment justifiable for all students irrespective of their state origin. Higher tuition fees for out of state student are a discriminatory strategy that denies many equal education opportunities.
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Out of state tuition is based on the fact that students from other states do not contribute to the development and tax payment of the state the college or university they want to attend. Thus, lowered tuition (in-state-tuition) is used as a way to reward residents, especially in their accounting and contribution to the development of the state’s education system. The argument lacks structured logic as students from other states also contribute to the national development of the nation’s education and school system by paying taxes in their home states. According to Jaquette and Curs (2015), t he entire school system should be viewed as a nationwide system and arrangement and should not be construed as a state affair only. By rewarding only locals with reduced fees, the state is segmenting the education system (public institutions). At the same time, the logic places colleges as state affairs ignoring the nationhood that puts the education system under one federal system. The federal government is the unifying factor in all sectors of the economy. Thus the payment of taxes and other accounting contributions should not be used as a basis of structuring the education/schooling system.
Out of state tuition is an act of segregation, monetary segregation limiting the growth and expansion of interstate commercial exchange. Every college and university is allowed to charge whatever it deems fit as tuition fees. However, according to Webber (2017) out of state tuition denies the opportunity for the transfer of human abilities and knowledge to the maximum. Restricting people from inter-state crossing should be deemed illegal as it promotes discriminatory acts. While the government seeks to expand the education and schooling system, restricting students to study in their study is counter-productive. Many states are out to make abnormal profits from the scheme. Darolia and Potochnick (2015) further postulate that t hese arise from exorbitantly high tuition fees that do not align with the education requirements and cohesive position of the Constitution on equality and freedom. While the Constitution is positioning and preparing every individual for growth and development, short-sighted strategies and measures are hindering the progress.
For the development of a nation, it is critical to allow students to prove their skills and abilities to contribute positively to the development of society. Thus, everyone born and brought up within the borders of the United States deserves the best opportunity and equal right to attend college and earn good grades. Webber (2017) adds that a ny measure or practice that hinders such an objective contradicts the spirit of the Constitution and nationhood, especially on freedom. As a student puts their best effort to improve on their abilities, circumstances force them to pay high tuition fees as compared to another student from that state. The resulting outcome is increased drop-outs, significant loan needs since they cannot afford the expensive costs. Often out of state tuition is twice or three times than in-state-tuition ( Deming, Goldin, Katz & Yuchtman, 2015) . These students later face financial hardships with incomplete education and loans that usually take them many years to pay. The money paid to clear the loan would have no doubt helped in setting up a business, hiring employees and improving the economy. With time, the students are continuously tied down by monthly loan repayments and further restrictions on financial development.
Most funding for colleges and universities is indeed derived from taxes from the state. The position is right, but the question that lingers is; why the same colleges continue charging students. Flores and Shepherd (2014) argue that c ollege and universities are gradually taking a commercial perspective. For example, taxes paid by the local students cover a large part of the college affairs and management. At the same time, Potochnick (2014) posits that the federal government also provides massive funding to these very institutions. The argument that the local state students pay taxes is flimsy as adults, and those in employment mostly pay taxes. Where do students find stable jobs to pay taxes? The lion’s share of the money pumped to colleges originates from FASFA and students loans.
Prohibiting out of state tuition will create a playing field within the institution of higher learning, thus creating more opportunities to provide education chances to students. Students and colleges will, therefore, be allowed to compete in a modern style. Good universities/colleges will become great and great students finding expansive opportunities to sharpen their skills and abilities. Every student has the freedom to attain their individual goals. However, out of state tuition is preventing many from achieving their dreams due to the high c required costs. The arrangement denies many students to pursue their dreams in their preferred colleges and universities. Why should a government/learning institution put such a restriction on a student’s life? Why should the arrangement play such a significant role in determining how good a student’s life should be in life and the future? It is against the law to deny one the opportunity to pursue their career goals because of cost. These rights as decreed by the country’s forefathers are currently operating on an international scale. Thus restricting student’s education because of high tuition costs is out-dated and needs to be prohibited.
References
Bozick, R., & Miller, T. (2014). In-state college tuition policies for undocumented immigrants: Implications for high school enrollment among non-citizen Mexican youth. Population Research and Policy Review , 33 (1), 13-30.
Darolia, R., & Potochnick, S. (2015). Educational" When,"" Where," and" How" Implications of In-State Resident Tuition Policies for Latino Undocumented Immigrants. The Review of Higher Education , 38 (4), 507-535. http://rajeevdarolia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/DaroliaPotochnick_RHE2015.pdf
Deming, D. J., Goldin, C., Katz, L. F., & Yuchtman, N. (2015). Can online learning bend the higher education cost curve?. American Economic Review , 105 (5), 496-501. https://www.nber.org/papers/w20890.pdf
Flores, S. M., & Shepherd, J. C. (2014). Pricing out the disadvantaged? The effect of tuition deregulation in Texas public four-year institutions. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , 655 (1), 99-122.
Jaquette, O., & Curs, B. R. (2015). Creating the out-of-state university: Do public universities increase nonresident freshman enrollment in response to declining state appropriations?. Research in Higher Education , 56 (6), 535-565.
Potochnick, S. (2014). How states can reduce the dropout rate for undocumented immigrant youth: The effects of in-state resident tuition policies. Social Science Research , 45 , 18-32. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4752170/
Webber, D. A. (2017). State divestment and tuition at public institutions. Economics of Education Review , 60 , 1-4.
Youtube (2016). Cost of in-state vs out-of-state tuition, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRPJKDt0ZNs
