ISU, Tuition Costs, and Me

I’m a part of the Dean’s Student Leadership Council, a group that meets with Dean Whiteford about every other week to learn more about the college administration and the issues faced by the university, as well as offer feedback and a way for the dean and his staff to interact with a varied group of students on a personal level.

Over break, the group was assigned to answer the following questions regarding ISU and the tuition we pay:

• What is my education worth?
• Where do I think ISU’s tuition should be?
• What kind of strategies should the college use to convey to students that we are a valuable entity?
• What are the three most important things I am getting from Iowa State?

Although I hadn’t initially written my response with the intention of sharing it, I think that someone may find it of interest, so I thought I’d post my thoughts…

The mean starting salary for ISU Computer Science seniors graduating May 2009 was $53,400. The average starting salary for high school graduates was $31,370 as of July 2009. That is a difference of nearly $22,000. One salary scale I saw indicated that by around 15 years of employment, an employee should be making around $75,000, with up to $25,000 more in bonus pay. The average salary for a high school graduate who has been with their company for 10-19 years was $43,937 in July 2009. That’s a yearly difference ranging from anywhere between $30,000 and $56,000. What is that difference worth to me? I have decided to commit four or five years of my life to Iowa State University and tens of thousands of dollars in tuition fees.

Compared to the other schools, annual in-state tuition and fees totaling $8500 seems like a fair and average amount. Tuition would be $280 per credit hour (15 per semester), or around $850 for a three credit class. Based on my calculations, this appears to only be a difference of around $8-10,000 over four years ($3325 vs. $4250/semester, increasing by 2.3% per semester). Would I pay an extra $10,000 for a degree? Certainly!

But how can other students be convinced that college in general is worthwhile? If you hadn’t noticed already, I love numbers. I think that on this topic specifically, the numbers show clearly that a college degree is a good idea. If you wanted to convince students that ISU specifically is the best place for them, I don’t think there is a one-size-fits-all approach. There are too many variables: home state, field of interest, scholarship offerings, and many more. Let the numbers speak. Tell students what ISU graduates in their field are making upon graduation and offer comparison data from surrounding schools. Highlight where graduates in their field are working now and what cool accomplishments they have achieved.

The most important thing I’m getting from ISU is the piece of paper that says “Bachelors of Science.” I believe that anything that I learn in a classroom I could learn independently. There are a plethora of computer science books available (with a large number of free resources online) that could replace every lecture. There are also a large number of open source software packages that are always in need of additional help. This would offer experience that would replace group projects and potentially even internships. However, even with an education and some group project experience, most employers won’t hire someone unless they have a diploma.

The second most important thing I’m getting from ISU is the reputation of the college with local employers. Although our computer science department isn’t a highly ranked program (on one list I saw, it was tied for 61 on a list of the top 75 CS programs), businesses in the Midwest recognize that ISU can produce competent CS graduates. As someone who plans on staying in the Midwest upon graduation, I’m happy to see the number of employers that recruit from our department. Because I was a student at ISU, I was able to land an internship with a growing Iowa-based company that hires CS grads almost exclusively from Iowa State.

Perhaps the third most important thing would be a tie between networking and extra-curricular activities. I’ve met a ton of peers studying in my field and have gotten to know several faculty and employers. With the recent rise of social media, I don’t think these connections would have been too difficult to establish outside of the university, but I cannot say for sure. There are a number of extra-curricular activities that would be hard to replace outside of the university. I’ve participated in ACM Programming Competition twice and Cyber Defense Competition three times. I’m co-chair of Cyclone Family Weekend. I helped organize demos of several students’ work for VEISHEA, and next year I expect to help teach the Computer Science Learning Community study sessions. Again, with volunteer opportunities always available in the local community and online programming contests, these experiences aren’t exclusive to Iowa State, but the university provides a good environment for connecting students to a variety of experiences.