News Article: WSJ: Breaking Down the Spending at One of America’s Priciest Public [Cow] Colleges

BamaNation

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Not really football-specific, but given the awbs big increases in spending on sports-related stuff, I'm sticking this article here.

Behind a paywall ... but this might work :


If not, the article is generally pretty skewering, and America's priciest cow college is providing few answers... which may be why they got skewered.

wsj.com said:
"AUBURN, Ala.—In recent decades, Auburn University added hundreds of millions of dollars in spending to its budget. The additional money didn’t go to the English department, nor to the sociology department. Some science departments only got a trickle more.

Instead, much of the money went toward administrative salaries, buildings and, no surprise, sports. "

...

"An Auburn spokeswoman declined to answer more than two dozen questions about changes to its budget and didn’t respond to a Journal reporter who visited the campus. In a written statement, she said the Journal had a “predetermined agenda.”

to be fair, I'm guessing they could write a similar article on UA and other top state publics. Many colleges are experiencing declining enrollment. Those that are not tend to be investing in buildings, dorms, programs, and experiences that students want and have to pay for. i understand the reason for the meal plans but as a student or parent, I would hate being forced to pay that. (and given my daughter is a HS senior this year, I'll be dealing with this issue soon!)
 

AlistarWills

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Not really football-specific, but given the awbs big increases in spending on sports-related stuff, I'm sticking this article here.

Behind a paywall ... but this might work :


If not, the article is generally pretty skewering, and America's priciest cow college is providing few answers... which may be why they got skewered.




to be fair, I'm guessing they could write a similar article on UA and other top state publics. Many colleges are experiencing declining enrollment. Those that are not tend to be investing in buildings, dorms, programs, and experiences that students want and have to pay for. i understand the reason for the meal plans but as a student or parent, I would hate being forced to pay that. (and given my daughter is a HS senior this year, I'll be dealing with this issue soon!)
Why am I finding it humorous that they specifically mentioned the sociology dept in the first paragraph?
 

NoNC4Tubs

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From the article:

Auburn students have also faced rising dining costs, and plans can cost up to $5,352 a year. Meal plans, once optional, are mandatory even for those living off campus.

Caroline Barnett, a spring 2023 graduate, said she worked two or three part-time jobs at a time to help with expenses at Auburn and could have done without the minimum required meal plan she qualified for, costing $750 annually, while living off campus. The cost increased to $850 annually this school year.

Wow! Not optional?!? That's NOT reasonable... :unsure:

Another from the article:

Auburn also ranks among the most expensive public schools for poor families, who attend some state schools for almost nothing. Auburn freshmen from families earning under $30,000 annually owed an average $17,481 in total costs after scholarships in 2021-22, federal data show.

Yikes! :oops:


One more:

Between 2002 and 2016, Auburn’s spending on every major sport in the Journal’s analysis, including basketball, baseball, swimming and gymnastics, increased by more than 50%, budget documents show.

They were all dwarfed by the total spent on football. The school spent about $30 million on its football program in 2016, more than double what it did previously.

“You don’t get much push back at all on expenditures in athletics there,” said Gogue, the former president.

No kidding! :cool:
 
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TitleWave

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At least Göös' old buddy former president Jay Gogue, now interim president at...hmm, New Mexico State, ain't slinging cow patties at their frivolous spending. I mean, $40+M in coaching buyouts on his watch is piddlin' agin' Jimbo's go-away dough, innit?
 
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jds22

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Not really football-specific, but given the awbs big increases in spending on sports-related stuff, I'm sticking this article here.

Behind a paywall ... but this might work :


If not, the article is generally pretty skewering, and America's priciest cow college is providing few answers... which may be why they got skewered.




to be fair, I'm guessing they could write a similar article on UA and other top state publics. Many colleges are experiencing declining enrollment. Those that are not tend to be investing in buildings, dorms, programs, and experiences that students want and have to pay for. i understand the reason for the meal plans but as a student or parent, I would hate being forced to pay that. (and given my daughter is a HS senior this year, I'll be dealing with this issue soon!)
BamaNation, you are correct. My child is a student at Bama and was required to live on campus and purchase a meal plan their Freshman year. On top of that each student is required to pay $350 a semester for Bama dining dollars. Those can be used around campus for fast food restaurants, some of the stores, and doing laundry, etc. The first year expenses before any scholarships/award money was applied came in at 27k. Tuition was $11,100. Dorm $9300, meal plan $4426, the rest was fees, parking pass, and Bama dining dollars. Alabama is very transparent and all of this is easily found on the university website.

We toured several in state colleges before the decision to attend Alabama was made. Auburn was more expensive than Alabama. They also were more stingy with money being awarded to students to help with costs. Auburn has not kept up with growth and does not have the dorms to support the amount of students interested in attending school there.The campus is surrounded by the city and doesn’t have room to expand. Unlike Alabama who has continued to expand the campus and build new dorms or has replaced older ones to add more capacity. We were told at orientation that each incoming Freshman class over the last 10 years at Alabama was the largest in school history. I think because space is limited at Auburn it increases the cost for each student. Would be interested to see how the spending budget is broken down at Alabama.
 

Padreruf

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Another example would be private schools such as Samford, WFU, Baylor, et. al. Most of them are spending at incredible rates to attract out of state students who can pay more than in state. Baylor and High Point University are both now @ 60,000 per year. WFU is with them...maybe more.
 
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Tidewater

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Auburn also ranks among the most expensive public schools for poor families, who attend some state schools for almost nothing. Auburn freshmen from families earning under $30,000 annually owed an average $17,481 in total costs after scholarships in 2021-22, federal data show.
My first semester at Alabama (Fall 1981) cost me $486/semester. Not per semester hour. Per semester.
 

Tidewater

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It is amazing how much our children are being fleeced today. It is criminal.
Having worked in academia since and seeing a bit of the business end, Alabama's undergrad in-state tuition was low because the state legislature funded a greater percentage of the operating budget, and tuition less.
Since then, states have cut back appropriations for public universities (relatively) and universities have rolled out percs like lazy river, really upgraded food service, multimillion-dollar fitness facilities, etc., etc. Colleges are competing for students and that costs money.
Alabama in 1981 was extremely no-frills compared to today.

And yes, it is criminal the debt we are saddling young people with. If I was 18 today, I'd go to a community college for the first two years, live at home under dad's roof, eat mom's chow, and use mom's washing machine, and save money. Then finish at the best in-state university I could get into. The degree would still say "Alabama."
 

TitleWave

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... Unlike Alabama who has continued to expand the campus and build new dorms or has replaced older ones to add more capacity. We were told at orientation that each incoming Freshman class over the last 10 years at Alabama was the largest in school history. ...
Sorta aligns with the, er, incoming Tide as per this NYT article (which also may behind a paywall but should be readily available as a promotional read from the St. Nick dossier):

Alabama Is Rolling in Cash, With Tide Lifting All Boats
 
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4Q Basket Case

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The discussion is headed away from how the boogs finance their sports programs and in the direction of politics....which aren't allowed on the Football board.

If you'd prefer to discuss the political aspects of how colleges raise money, what they spend it on, and whether a given degree is worth the money, I'm happy to move it to NSPR.
 
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davefrat

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My son is a freshman (pardon me...a "First Year") student at UVA.*

It is undoubtedly a world-class academic institution, but in-state tuition with room and board is nearly $35K. There's a joke at UVA..."What's the difference between prison and UVA...the food is much better in prison." And this is at a public university with a $15 Billion endowment.

The cost of college education has become almost prohibitive. My son got into every school in VA that he applied to, and although more expensive than the rest of the public schools, we figured that if you're getting gouged, you may as well get gouged at the best place.

*UVA has a real stick up it's rear end when it comes to exclusive snobishness...they also don't have a campus...they have "The Grounds."
 

davefrat

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Or at least don't complain about how society is unfair on your way to your Starbucks barista job.
Young people have to learn to ask extremely pointed questions of academic advisors these days.
I majored in history in undergrad and got a master's in history at UA (and had the opportunity to study with some really brilliant professors like Forrest McDonald, John Beeler and Howard Jones).

To be sure, it's not the most marketable degree (and I had to go to law school in order to get a really good paying job) but I wouldn't trade the education I have for anything else.

The older I get the more obvious it becomes that we'd be better off if more people had the slightest clue about what happened in years past.
 

imauafan

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My first semester at Alabama (Fall 1981) cost me $486/semester. Not per semester hour. Per semester.
I believe my first semester at Alabama (Fall 1988) was ~$750/semester. I lived in Rose Towers and the dorm cost was roughly the same as tuition. Books were ~$200. I chose the lowest level food plan but I don't remember how much that was.
 

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