by Jolene Toves

Guam - Paying for a college education is never easy on the wallet and with news of a proposed tuition rate increase of 10 percent for University of Guam students, students voiced their concerns at today's public hearing. Student regent elect Vinni Orsini shares the general consensus.

"I know that our university cannot operate for a hundred years on $190 a credit, but the availability of it and the implementation of an increase is going to hurt people and but nobody is going to oppose paying more but 10 percent is looking like a lot of money to a lot of people who are going to be affected by it," Orsini said.

Orsini says the increase is not a surprise but paying an additional ten percent is a lot for students paying out of pocket. It has been six years since the university has implemented a rate increase and if the proposed increase is implemented it will be effective in the fall. UOG president Dr. Robert Underwood said, "What is slated for the fall semester is ten percent and then the succeeding two years is five percent that proposal is already approved and already in place if we get the legislature and the governor to support our budget then we won't do the ten percent," he said.

They will however implement the 5 percent increase in the succeeding years raising concerns about retention and completion of university students. "What we are going to do we proposed today is to give a $1,000 grant to students who go from freshman to sophomores in three semesters that's the maximum time of drop out here at the University of Guam," he explained.

With nearly 40 percent of UOG students dropping out before their sophomore year the university hopes a financial incentive will help. "Lastly, if they complete their education in eight consecutive semesters at the University of Guam in four years we will give then another thousand dollars," he said.

Underwood is hopeful these incentives will encourage degree completion. Underwood adds that the incentives will also go into effect in the fall semester pending the board of regents approval.