CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — School will be starting again in a couple weeks for Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi students.
But a few students are hoping that the institution will consider reducing tuition costs for the upcoming school year.
"It’s still quite high, just knowing a lot of our classes are going to be put online and how a lot of the resources on campus won’t really be utilized the same," said Carlos Vela, a TAMU-CC senior.
Vela said he loves being an Islander and takes pride in going to school. But he would like to see the institution help students with costs, especially considering the current pandemic conditions. we are still in the middle of a pandemic.
"In this pandemic, there are challenges that are being faced," Vela said. "People lost their jobs. People are trying to figure out how to scramble every bit of money to still be able to get their education this semester."
Vela decided to partner with a couple of other students and create a petition, which he believes will receive wider support if other students knew about it
KRIS 6 contacted TAMU-CC for its response to the petition.
In an email, they said:
"Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s quality of instruction has not changed, and student services remain available. The University does not plan to change tuition rates but has a variety of resources to help students with a financial need, including the Islander Guarantee program. This program covers tuition and fees for students whose adjusted family gross income is $60,000 or less. The University also has used CARES Act funding and other private funding to assist students who have additional needs at this time. In addition, we offer a program that freezes tuition and fees for undergraduate resident students for four years, and nearly 99% of our students take advantage of this program."
Vela said he believes these programs can be useful and encourages students to utilize them, but says there is more than needs to be considered.
"If people are even able to 1) qualify for those programs; and 2) the fact that it’s just large in general and this still impacts anyone else that’s attending at the University," he said.
TAMU-CC does offer different programs and resources on their website, you can find more information here.