As many of you know NEIU has struggled economically in recent years. Many students, including me, pick NEIU because it is local, affordable and diverse. In order to keep NEIU open we need to have monetary funding and a budget.

According the NEIU website “During the FY16-FY18 Illinois budget crisis, funding for higher education throughout the state of Illinois was significantly reduced by hundreds of millions of dollars, forcing universities to defer maintenance and realign resources to ensure student success.”

It is important to keep public institutions funded because future teachers, future police officers and future accountants are all currently being educated at NEIU.

You can and should get involved in supporting public colleges.

We can ask our state legislators to support our university by voting for an increase in funding for higher education, and a capital bill before May 31. You can find out who your state legislator is by visiting the website openstates.org. Let him or her know why it is important to fund higher education.

Many areas of our campus need improvements. According to an email sent to NEIU students, “some of our buildings are deteriorating and NEIU has a backlog of deferred maintenance. Funding to upgrade existing buildings and build new, state-of-the-art facilities is critical to ensure Illinois higher education remains at the forefront of the discovery and workforce development that drives a vibrant economy.”

In order to attract new students, NEIU has to be presentable.

According to College Calc, the average annual in-state college tuition in Illinois was $17,888 for the 2017-2018 academic year. NEIU is one of the least expensive 4 year colleges in Illinois. NEIU’s current tuition is about ten thousand dollars per academic year. By attending you can save a lot of money.

NEIU is a public university. This means that a good portion of  funding is given by the state government. In order to keep NEIU affordable we need to have good funding.

As current students it is our responsibility to ensure NEIU remains funded for the benefit of current and future students not only when there is a budget crisis but always.

Current international student Ankush Vyas says “Funding public universities is extremely important to me so I can perform well in my education and graduate without extreme burden on worrying about my basic requirements such as having a roof over my head, and having some food to eat due to extreme financial hardships.”

Vyas also says “I believe that funding club activities, hiring student recruiters, expanding career services, and compensating low paid instructors can greatly increase NEIU’s potential to generate bright students and progress toward a working society.”

Vyas is not alone, there are many more students in similar situations.

If we do not do anything NEIU could lose students, faculty, and services.

Act now by contacting your state legislator and let him or her know why funding higher education is important to you.

#FundHigherEd