Congressman Carney, College Administrators Discuss Rising Cost Of Higher Education

Press Release

Congressman John Carney (D-DE) hosted a roundtable discussion on Thursday to discuss the rising cost of higher education and options for making college more affordable. Participants included administrators from the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical & Community College, Wilmington University, Wesley College, and Goldey-Beacom College.

"Higher education is key to our country's economic competitiveness, but the cost of college is higher than ever," said Congressman Carney. "Today I heard some of the steps Delaware's colleges are taking to keep college tuitions low. That said, families in Delaware and across the country are struggling to pay skyrocketing tuition. We need to work together to ensure that higher education is affordable and accessible for every Delawarean."

Over the past three decades, college costs have gone up 570 percent. They've increased at four times the median household income, and twice as fast as health care costs. Total U.S. student loan debt recently topped $1 trillion, which surpassed the total owed on both auto loans and credit card debt.

"We need to be looking at the total cost of attendance," said Jerry McNesby, Vice President for Finance at Delaware Technical & Community College. "We've been looking at ways to save on our operating costs, expand our revenue base, and continually look at the existing academic programs for relevancy to meet today's workforce needs. 70 percent of Del Tech students graduate debt free. Our goal is reducing the amount students have to pay in order to walk across that graduation stage."

"We take this subject very seriously," said Amir Mohammadi, Executive Vice President for Finance and University Treasurer of Delaware State University. "Three out of the last eight years DSU has not increased tuition and fees. We didn't do that because it was easy -- it's because it was the right thing to do. We have to think out of the box in terms of how to keep tuition low going forward."

"We're dedicated to keeping costs as low as possible," said Domenico Grasso, Provost at the University of Delaware. "The downturn in the economy has hurt families and has caused colleges to have to make up the difference in lost tuition dollars by increasing financial aid. That raises tuition across the board. We're committed to educating undergraduate students while being the state's only major research institution."

"Wesley has a very diverse student body and we're very proud of that," said Chris Wood, Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Wesley College. "40 percent of our students are the first in their generation to attend college. We've eliminated the fat from our budget and run as efficiently as possible in order to keep tuition low."

"We're working hard to make tuition affordable by finding creative ways to help students pay the cost," said Larry Eby, Director of Admissions at Goldey-Beacom College. "The net cost for the students at Goldey-Beacom have been level for the past 10 years. Our goal is to continue that trend."

"We don't rely on any state or government aid to fund our programs," said Erin DiMarco, Vice President of Academic Support Services at Wilmington University. "We haven't raised our tuition more than 2.5 percent in the past 5 years. We run a lean administration in order to continue serving students at an affordable cost."

Today's meeting is the latest in a series of steps Congressman Carney has taken regarding the issue of college affordability. In July, the Congressman hosted a roundtable discussion with parents, guidance counselors, and a college financial aid counselor to gain insight into the current financial aid system. He also hosted a telephone town hall meeting with more than 4,000 Delawareans to learn about their experiences and challenges surrounding the cost of higher education, and to discuss potential solutions.

In the coming weeks, Congressman Carney will host another roundtable discussion with current students, recent graduates, and a credit counselor to better understand the challenges young people with student loan debt face.

Participants at the roundtable included:
Domenico Grasso, Provost, University of Delaware
Amir Mohammadi, Executive Vice President for Finance and University Treasurer, Delaware State University
Erin DiMarco, Vice President of Academic Support Services, Wilmington University
Jerry McNesby, Vice President for Finance, Delaware Technical & Community College
Chris Wood, Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Wesley College
Larry Eby, Director of Admissions, Goldey-Beacom College

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