Are we getting our money's worth?

Chris Thomas

Columnist

Notice I didn't ask if I could ask you a question because then I would already have asked you a question. That really doesn't give you much of a chance now does it?

Anyway, back to the question I was originally going to ask you without your permission. Do you feel that you are getting $49.46 out of each class that you go to? Well, I sure hope you are because that is the break- down of what each class period costs you here at Wartburg.

I had a little time this weekend to figure out the math of it all because it has been long rumored that each class costs us $60 when all is said and done. So I wanted to find out for sure. My figures assume that the typical student has four classes, two on Monday-Wednesday-Friday and two on Tuesday-Thursday.

If you take the amount of our yearly tuition that is actually dedicated to classes, you get $14,740. If a student takes the usual four classes each term as I stated and one regular May Term class, there are a possible 298 class periods to attend. So when you do the math, we arrive at $49.46 per class.

Now of course, you have to understand that the cost per class does depend on whether or not you take 3.5 credits or 4.5 credits or if you have night classes or more Tuesday-Thursday classes than others do. But for argument's sake, bear with me here.

So I'll ask again, do you feel you are getting your money's worth? I sure hope the answer is yes. Especially since most of are going into debt for this education. Personally, I'll be looking at near $22,000 of debt for my education when it's all said and done. But hopefully it will all pay off in the end when I take my degree out into the 'real world' and start the job hunt. But it is still hard for me to get over the fact that we are paying anywhere between $49 and $60 for each class that we attend.

It seems like a lot, doesn't it? Especially when you skip class or are too sick to attend. When you are not in class, it is as good as tossing the money in a toilet and flushing it down the drain. It's not like we get a refund for the classes we don't go to at the end of the year. And I'm not asking for that either; that would be silly. And the controller's office would tell you that as well after they had you sign an agreement stating how silly that idea actually is.

But there is one thing that makes me feel better, and that is my friend who attends the University of Notre Dame. People will tell you that a Notre Dame diploma is just as valuable as a Wartburg degree, and maybe in theory that is true. Especially since you only get out of your education what you put in.

But when you look at the cold hard cash factors, we are getting a steal. The average price of a Notre Dame class is $100 per session. That makes our $49.46 seem like a deal, doesn't it?

Any way you look at it we are probably getting ripped off. A state school education (i.e. Iowa, Iowa State and UNI) is much cheaper. But you have to ask yourself what you want.

I wanted smaller classes, an opportunity to get to know my professors and a close knit community of classmates and staff. And that is what I got, so to me, I am getting my money's worth.

It doesn't have to be all about classes or education. It should be about what you want to get out of your time at Wartburg. Especially since you are the one paying the $49.46.