Who Will Pay for Your Student's Education

What Value Do Your Students Place on Their UC San Diego Education?

If you want to know what your UC San Diego student thinks of the tuition and fees that are paid for his or her UC San Diego education, here's an opportunity to “eavesdrop” on a student-to-student conversation and learn about a new student-based fundraising initiative. Sarah Chang, president of the UCSD Student Foundation, recently wrote this essay:

The Day Tuition Ends: Who Pays for Your Student's Education?

Too often, students at the University of California, San Diego find themselves knee-deep in details. Midterms, paper due dates and finals rule our calendars; student organization meetings swallow time that could be spent at the beach; checkbooks are (somewhat) balanced, with at least one regular withdrawal—roughly $3,000 from our account to the UC Regents every three months.

Ask any undergraduate the value they put on their education and most will answer with the total amount of their student fees—but we know our UC San Diego education is worth so much more than $9,000. And the UCSD Student Foundation has the numbers to prove it.

Those quarterly checks add up to about 9 percent of the cost of educating one student at UC San Diego. But with higher education's share of state revenue declining each year (only 12 percent of the university's total budget is from the state of California), UC San Diego must increasingly rely on financial support from generous alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students and friends. While we're busy lobbying the state legislature to use more tax dollars for education, we sometimes forget how much the university and donors support students.

But the numbers aren't all that matter. Numbers can't quantify the amazing internship you landed in your second year, or the relationship you've built with professors. Numbers don't have anything to do with a truly inspiring lecture, a free concert put on by the AS, a great run at RIMAC, or the rows of 18th Century British plays on the 7th floor of Geisel. That 9 percent has very little to do with study breaks in the dorms, or the amazing friendships you've made over coffee at the Grove.

The Student Foundation, an organization sponsored by the UC San Diego Alumni Association and the UC San Diego Foundation, is raising awareness about the “big picture”—what it takes to educate a student, dollar for dollar, and who contributes to the full value of our degrees. It's not just about the quarterly tuition check. It's about taking in an experience both inside and outside of the classroom that rivals the best private institutions in the country. It's about community and connections. It's about spirit, service and leadership.

The Day Tuition Ends 2009 is a Student Foundation campaign to encourage students to appreciate the full value of their education—beyond expenses. In early January, a two-day kick-off included visual displays and information on Library Walk, and culminated in an event for students, alumni and UC San Diego community members to watch the premier of the “Day Tuition Ends” campaign video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpr8N7GMr9M) and hear personal stories from UCSD alumni and scholarship recipients.

The big picture of life at UC San Diego is worth so much more than numbers on a check. The goal of this campaign is to help students understand the full value of their academic careers at UCSD and encourage them to one day give back to the university as much as they have received. Be a part of the picture!

UC San Diego has been successful in creating unique strategies and opportunities to inspire philanthropy, even in 20-year-olds. In 1999, the university launched an innovative program that teaches students the importance of private support and how to run a private foundation. The UCSD Student Foundation is not only managed and supported by students—it's helping to develop the next generation of philanthropists.

Parents and families can also help in establishing a tradition of philanthropy. In recognition of the stellar education that UC San Diego offers, please consider giving to the Parents Fund to maintain and strengthen the university’s overall academic program and provide a pool of flexible dollars for our six colleges. For more information on giving to the Parents Fund, please visit www.ucsdfund.ucsd.edu/ParentsFund or contact Parent Giving Director Toni Tschann at ttschann@ucsd.edu or (858) 822-3867.