A Zero Debt Future at Boston College
BC President Leahy and the Boston College Board of Trustees
The Problem
BC's most recent tuition hike of 3.6% brings cost of attendance to an unfathomable $72,736 per year! Cost of attendance is on pace to raise by an average of 4.3% per year, meaning the class of 2019 can expect cost of attendance to reach $82,529 by the time they graduate - an additional $10,000 students must find a way to finance.
As students, parents, alumni, and faculty of Boston College we believe the decision by the Board of Trustees and President Leahy to participate in the broken higher education funding system is exploitative and unconscionable. Our voices should not be absent in a system and in a decision making process which directly impacts our daily lives as well as our futures.
As college tuitions skyrocket nationwide, students are now borrowing twice as much money to pay for college than they did in 2000. Boards of trustees and college presidents across the country believe they can further pile tuition, fees, housing, loans, and debt on the backs of their students without any repercussions - it’s unsustainable. Eventually students and parents will be crushed by this system!
Our Solution
Student debt is a national crisis – but it does not have to be. At BC, our endowment sat at $2.6 billion at the end of fiscal year 2018. Every year, in total Boston College receives about $75 million in student and parent federal loans. By leveraging only 2.8 percent of our endowment, BC could replace federal loans with grants and offer Zero Debt degrees to all its undergraduate students.
Every voice we add makes our call louder! Please add your name to ask Boston College’s Board of Trustees and President Leahy to sit down with our advocates and discuss the possibilities of embracing a Zero Debt future.
Sponsored by
To:
BC President Leahy and the Boston College Board of Trustees
From:
[Your Name]
As a member of the BC community, I believe the decision by the Boston College Board of Trustees and President Leahy to raise tuition again, this time by 3.6 percent, is unconscionable. Cost of attendance is on pace to raise by an average of 4.3% meaning the class of 2019 can expect cost of attendance to reach $82,529 over four years - an additional $10,000 BC students and parents must find a way to finance.
By choosing to participate in the broken higher education funding system, the Board of Trustees and President Leahy are endorsing a system that traps both students and parents in a cycle of debt and default which jeopardizes their futures. Student, alumni, and parent voices have been absent from this decision-making process and that is unacceptable.
Student debt is a national crisis – but it does not have to be. At BC, our endowment sat at $2.6 billion at the end of fiscal year 2018. Every year, in total Boston College receives about $75 million in student and parent federal loans. By leveraging only 2.8 percent of our endowment, BC could replace federal loans with grants and offer Zero Debt degrees to all its undergraduate students.
We call upon you, the Boston College Board of Trustees and President of Boston College, William P. Leahy to engage in open dialogue with concerned representatives of the BC community and ultimately, embrace a Zero Debt future.