Last week, the UT System Board of Regents voted to increase tuition at UTSA by 0.6percent, which will take effect in Fall 2013.

The current cost of tuition and fees at UTSA is $9,004 per year, an increase from $7,242 just five years ago.

By comparison, UT Austin currently charges $9,794 for tuition, while theuniversity charged $8,122 five years ago. The Board of Regents voted not toincrease tuition at UT Austin for the second consecutive year.

Accordingto CNN, the price of tuition and fees has increased by 104 percent over thelast decade, and that pattern is set to continue. Additionally, a Gallup pollreleased earlier this month found that 72 percent of those surveyed believethat it is important to have a degree or certificate beyond high school. Thesame survey also found that 74 percent of people think that college is notaffordable for everyone who needs it.

Although the survey suggests that cost may be a hindrance for some, it also reflectsthat it is still more advantageous for an individual to acquire apost-secondary education. Most of the professional job market maintains a “baseline requirement of a college degree,” Karen Ivy, assistant director of StudentServices, stated.

“UTSAis well aware of the cost to earn a quality, post-secondary education,”according to its admissions website. “But UTSA, historically, is less expensivethan many other Texas public universities in major metropolitan areas includingDallas and Houston.”

Aswell as working to keep college affordable, UTSA maintains many valuable resources, including the Career Center, job bank and communication liaisons that work to connect students with internships that best match their interests.These programs offer ways for students to find help where resources would nottypically be available.

According to Eric Cooper, director of Student Financial Aid and Enrollment Services, 65percent of UTSA students depend on financial aid, the highest proportion of anyUT system school. The UTSA Office of Student Financial Aid and EnrollmentServices will, according to their website, meet the direct costs or financialneeds for all eligible students until a variety of funds have been exhausted.

Inthe 2011-2012 academic year, UTSA was able to award students $272.3 million in scholarships,grants, loans and work-study positions.

A recipient of financial aid, however, must remember that borrowing may meanlarge amounts of debt upon graduation. Two-thirds of 2011 college graduates inthe U.S. had incurred student loan debt, averaging $26,600 per borrower, asreported by Associate Director of Media Relations Christi Fish. But, accordingto statistics compiled by the Department of Education, the loan defaultrate—the percentage of graduates who cannot pay their student loans—for UTSA is11.1 percent, below the national average of 13.4 percent.

Apartfrom academic achievement, a college experience also offers intellectualgrowth, networking opportunities, maturing experiences and the chance to“acquire skills that (one) never could’ve come in contact with outside ofcollege,” said Public Affairs Specialist K.C. Scharnberg.

Because students are exposed to new topics and ideas, Ivy insists that a college degreelets an employer know that a “student is trainable, they’re able to set goalsand complete them, and that they have interacted with people that have talkedabout various perspectives of the world,” which is crucial, because “everythingis global at this point.”

“It’s amazing how many doors are opened to you during the time period that you’re acollege Last week, the UT System Board of Regents voted to increase tuition atUTSA by 0.6 percent, which will take effect in Fall 2013.

The current cost of tuition and fees at UTSAis $9,004 per year, an increase from $7,242 just five years ago.

By comparison, UT Austin currently charges$9,794 for tuition, while the university charged $8,122 five years ago. TheBoard of Regents voted not to increase tuition at UT Austin for the secondconsecutive year.

According to CNN, the price of tuition andfees has increased by 104 percent over the last decade, and that pattern is setto continue. Additionally, a Gallup poll released earlier this month found that72 percent of those surveyed believe that it is important to have a degree orcertificate beyond high school. The same survey also found that 74 percent ofpeople think that college is not affordable for everyone who needs it.

Although the survey suggests that cost may bea hindrance for some, it also reflects that it is still more advantageous foran individual to acquire a post-secondary education. Most of the professionaljob market maintains a “base line requirement of a college degree,” Karen Ivy,assistant director of Student Services, stated.

“UTSA is well aware of the cost to earn a quality,post-secondary education,” according to its admissions website. “But UTSA,historically, is less expensive than many other Texas public universities inmajor metropolitan areas including Dallas and Houston.”

As well as working to keep college affordable,UTSA maintains many valuable resources, including the Career Center, job bankand communication liaisons that work to connect students with internships thatbest match their interests. These programs offer ways for students to find helpwhere resources would not typically be available.

According to Eric Cooper, director of StudentFinancial Aid and Enrollment Services, 65 percent of UTSA students depend onfinancial aid, the highest proportion of any UT system school. The UTSA Officeof Student Financial Aid and Enrollment Services will, according to theirwebsite, meet the direct costs or financial needs for all eligible studentsuntil a variety of funds have been exhausted.

In the 2011-2012 academic year, UTSA was ableto award students $272.3 million in scholarships, grants, loans and work-studypositions.

A recipient of financial aid, however, mustremember that borrowing may mean large amounts of debt upon graduation.Two-thirds of 2011 college graduates in the U.S. had incurred student loan debt,averaging $26,600 per borrower, as reported by Associate Director of MediaRelations Christi Fish. But, according to statistics compiled by the Departmentof Education, the loan default rate—the percentage of graduates who cannot paytheir student loans—for UTSA is 11.1 percent, below the national average of13.4 percent.

Apart from academic achievement, a collegeexperience also offers intellectual growth, networking opportunities, maturingexperiences and the chance to “acquire skills that (one) never could’ve come incontact with outside of college,” said Public Affairs Specialist K.C.Scharnberg.

Because students are exposed to new topicsand ideas, Ivy insists that a college degree lets an employer know that a“student is trainable, they’re able to set goals and complete them, and thatthey have interacted with people that have talked about various perspectives ofthe world,” which is crucial, because “everything is global at this point.”

“It’samazing how many doors are opened to you during the time period that you’re acollege student,” Scharnberg said.