I would like to thank you and Los Medanos College for giving us the opportunity to read about the school and the different activities going on throughout, while also allowing us to express our rising concerns about the cost of education.

As a sixth year returning Los Medanos College student, I have not only witnessed the cost of tuition and parking passes rise gradually, but the books too; just because a few words are changed and now given a different edition number. Moreover, students have to pick up the expenses of having to buy scantrons of all different sizes just so they can be given a test by their instructor. I understand that scantrons are convenient for immediate test grading, but I’m sure that most students would not mind waiting another couple days for their results to save a couple dollars down the road. I believe this is something that should be covered by the school district, seeing that the cost of tuition keeps rising.

Something that is also a rising concern is that teachers themselves are also not getting the required tools that they need to conduct class appropriately and effectively. I recall classes in which teachers had no whiteboard markers, no erasers, and broken, missing, or malfunctioning LCD projectors. They also had limited access to printing documents for their students, forcing students to print it out on campus computers at a cost of 10 cents per page, or on personal printers. These are all additional costs that Los Medanos College students and professors have to cover, which is unacceptable because the college should cover them. My question to you is: where is the student’s tuition really going? Maybe with a new year starting we will see some changes in the extra amount of out-of-pocket expenses students will have to pay.