It seems tuition is going up and student resources are going down.

First, the credit card fee increase, then the library hours are cut, now to make matters worse, according to USF Provost Ralph Wilcox’s annual address to faculty, there are plans to cut back staff and reduce general education and elective courses to “improve efficiencies.”

Those taking the greatest hit from the fee increases and cut backs on resources are the students — the only people paying to be a part of the university.

It seems that the only solution our administration can come up with is to take away from the students.

Soon the cuts will put students at a major disadvantage when elective courses that allow students to explore other interests that they may not have a desire to major in are taken away.

USF has offered a wide assortment of classes that will continue to shrink as the budget cuts take over. With every class that gets cut because of the budget, that’s a cut in a student’s college experience.

This will also result in a cut back on staff, which ultimately results in fewer resources for students. This could potentially mean larger class sizes and less of an opportunity for students to interact with their professors — yet another cut in a student’s college experience.

Students have also been left out of the loop for recent budget cut plans. While faculty and staff have received emails from the university president, there has been little to no notification directly to students on what changes are expected in the coming semesters.

Rather, students get a notification after the changes have been made without getting a say in the matters of the education they are paying for.

It’s unknown how far these cut backs will go, but right now they are coming out of the wrong places. Students should be deciding where their tuition dollars are going and why they’re not paying for the staff and classes they want.

The students should be getting what they pay for, not losing it.

Ali Leist is a junior majoring in mass communications. First, the credit card fee increase, then the library hours are cut, now to make matters worse, according to USF Provost Ralph Wilcox’s annual address to faculty, there are plans to cut back staff and reduce general education and elective courses to “improve efficiencies.”

Those taking the greatest hit from the fee increases and cut backs on resources are the students — the only people paying to be a part of the university.

It seems that the only solution our administration can come up with is to take away from the students.

Soon the cuts will put students at a major disadvantage when elective courses that allow students to explore other interests that they may not have a desire to major in are taken away.

USF has offered a wide assortment of classes that will continue to shrink as the budget cuts take over. With every class that gets cut because of the budget, that’s a cut in a student’s college experience.

This will also result in a cut back on staff, which ultimately results in fewer resources for students. This could potentially mean larger class sizes and less of an opportunity for students to interact with their professors — yet another cut in a student’s college experience.

Students have also been left out of the loop for recent budget cut plans. While faculty and staff have received emails from the university president, there has been little to no notification directly to students on what changes are expected in the coming semesters.

Rather, students get a notification after the changes have been made without getting a say in the matters of the education they are paying for.

It’s unknown how far these cut backs will go, but right now they are coming out of the wrong places. Students should be deciding where their tuition dollars are going and why they’re not paying for the staff and classes they want.

The students should be getting what they pay for, not losing it.

Ali Leist is a junior majoring in mass communications.