Who is paying for my education?

In the wake of Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Government bailout package, everyone seems to be an expert on the economy nowadays. Most of my friends can converse extensively on financial derivatives and predatory lending; perhaps this is just another sign of the times. But for all the national headlines, what do we know about how our own education is funded?

Most of us think we already know the answer.

Some of us take out loans, others have scholarships, many of us receive help from our families. We pay our tuition, and the university operates. We own this place. Right?

No, you actually pay for almost none of “your education”.

Last week I conducted a small survey on campus to see how much of the university budget our faculty and students believe is covered by student tuition and fees.

In my survey, 21 out of 25 randomly selected faculty members and students asked believe that student tuition and fees covers over 30 percent of the university budget. 12 of those respondents thought that tuition and fees covered over 50 percent of the budget. Only one student came within 10 percent of the actual value.

The shocking truth is that only 15 percent of the University budget is covered by student tuition and fees. No, your eyes are not deceiving you, 85 percent of your education is funded by someone else.

The state of North Carolina funds approximately 45 percent of our education, an extremely high amount for a state college. For comparison, the University of Virginia receives less than 10 percent of its funding from the state.

The other large wedge in the pie is covered by endowments. Such as research grants from the National Science Foundation, Department of Agriculture and other bodies who we conduct research on the behalf of.

Tom Levy, senior in history, was just as surprised as I was by the figure. “You’re kidding,” he quipped.

Not surprisingly, this sentiment was shared by almost all of the respondents. I cannot count the number of students who said, “Really!” in response to the figure of 15 percent.

Many of us here really do have to sacrifice to come up with tuition money each semester. It is nothing more than human nature to want to think that our share funds most of our education.

To me at least, this seems like pretty important information. It has totally changed my perception of the University. No longer do I feel as though I own this place, I now realize I am nothing more than a squatter on Government land.

Who is to blame for us not knowing? Naturally, I choose to ridicule the source of all evil, the administration. Instead of fruitless race sensitivity training, how about we give the entire incoming freshman class a Budget 101 seminar? Or would N.C. State prefer to have 96 percent of us walk around oblivious to who funds our education?