The fiscal challenges facing higher educational institution are enormous and require some prudent measures to deal with. The family factor to this problem should be given a due attention. Obviously, the federal government support is no longer reliable due to budgetary constraints. Most institutions, therefore, resort to program cut backs and increase in tuition fees.
The information in chapter five of this week reading prompted me that even though tuition increase is the surest way to raise revenue for the university, a lot of students really feel the heat in paying. If US has the largest percentage of divorce cases and also has more single parents in the system, then it sounds reasonable to infer that majority of students live below the poverty line. These students need support to enable them go through their academic work. This is where I think as student affairs professionals we have a role to play.
Apart from the difficulties that such students face in paying their tuition, psychologically, they are disadvantaged. Student affairs practitioners must be proactive in support in their support agenda. This can be done by a close collaboration with the admission and counseling services to truck all students with single parents. They should be identified first and thereafter, put pragmatic measures in place to support them in order to solve their psychological and emotional problems.
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