OPINION: USC should direct funds toward improving students’ quality of life
Every year, USC students hear about how the University’s endowment continues to grow. According to USC’s 2018 financial Report, accumulated endowment investment returns spent on operations increased 3.9 percent from the previous year. However, many are concerned as to why tuition continues to increase despite the growing endowment. Since the 2014-15 academic year, tuition has increased by over $7,000. And just last week, USC announced a 3.5 percent increase for the upcoming year.
Furthermore, under former USC president C.L. Max Nikias, in 2017 the University announced that it raised $6 billion, almost 18 months ahead of schedule. Endowment generally gives an institution the ability to grow, remaining as a permanent source of funding through its projected investment incomes. However, focus on areas like dining, recreational facilities and housing needs to be heightened — very little has changed in the past few years, especially in comparison to other elite institutions.
According to USC’s 2017 financial report, “The endowment exists to support the academic mission of the University for current and future generations of Trojans.” But it’s hard to support students academically if basic needs like nutrition are not met. USC continues to fall behind comparable institutions, and funding from increased tuition and USC’s endowment could go to improving available resources like student dining.
For instance, USC’s funds should be allocated to increasing food diversity and providing more options for vegetarians and vegans. Funds could also be used to instate activity-level monitoring, as done at UCLA and UCSB, to analyze what foods USC students are eating to make informed decisions on how to minimize waste and better satisfy student needs. Funds could be directed toward wages for USC dining staff so that opening hours are extended to accommodate students with varying schedules.
USC needs to allocate funds to improving student living conditions as well. On-campus dorms lack basic amenities from furnishing to air conditioning — not to mention that some spring admits have been forced to live in converted lounges. Students who choose dorm-style living are forced to live without air conditioning in various freshman residential halls and undergraduate housing like Parkside Apartments — this can take a toll on their physical comfort in extreme temperatures. USC Housing must direct funds toward bettering the housing experience for the thousands of students it serves. A ductless air conditioner, for example, costs about $600, meaning that the entirety of Trojan Hall could likely be retrofitted with air-conditioning for approximately $70,000 — an addition that would considerably improve daily life.
It is understandable that comfort and quality of student housing might not be one of the University’s priorities. As a large institution, there are many areas to which USC directs its endowment funds, but at its core, USC aims to serve its students and by approaching endowments with student interests in mind, the University can truly drive itself into its next era.
Although rising inflation and increased managing costs across the United States have caused a majority of universities to raise tuition, many elite institutions have additionally chosen to use their endowment funds to lower tuition rates for students and families most affected by these increases. Even though USC administers the largest undergraduate financial aid program in the U.S., according to The Campaign for USC, the University still does not guarantee free or heavily discounted tuition to students in lower-income brackets.
In 2015, for example, Stanford University announced that students from families earning less than $125,000 annually would not have to pay tuition. However, Stanford does benefit from a $26.5 billion endowment — more than quadruple USC’s.
Only 2.2 percent of undergraduate scholarship aid is provided through endowment. Because students are forced to pay more, they deserve to gain more benefits from their USC experience, whether that means improving daily resources or increasing access to secondary education.
Regardless, increasing access is one of the most important things USC can do to “welcome outstanding men and women of every race, creed and background,” the University’s mission statement reads.
As the University continues to grow, those in charge of endowment funds must consider student interests while continuing to follow the most crucial tenets of USC’s mission statement. With the tens of millions of dollars available to the University, a small portion should certainly be reasonably diverted to benefit current students, even as expanding the financial aid pool is an effective use of the funds. Striking a proper balance between the two is crucial for USC’s donors and administration, effectively setting the guidelines for the University’s role as an institution.