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General Ohio University Discussion/Alumni Events

Topic: Full cost of attendance

Topic: Full cost of attendance

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Alan Swank
General User

Member Since: 12/11/2004
Location: Athens, OH
Post Count: 7,073

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Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/12/2015 11:07:44 AM

I found this article in Sunday's Messenger interesting and informative. I'm not sure how many scholarship athletes OU has but at $3200 each, this adds up quickly.

http://www.athensmessenger.com/sports/ohiouniversity/ohio...

OhioStunter
General User

Member Since: 2/18/2005
Location: Chicago
Post Count: 2,516

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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/12/2015 4:01:30 PM

Thanks Alan. This is very interesting. Whether or not one agrees with it, this poses numerous questions:

-Can the student-athletes spend the check on anything they want?

-How is the university funding this? And for Akron University, how will they justify using university funds for this as they are cutting other programs?

-And back to question #1, are these funds conceivably used to purchase nefarious things for athletes who are already getting their college paid for? TVs, beats headphones, beer (not saying all would take advantage of this, but we can all agree that this might be likely from at least one athlete and come into question from anti-athletics department critics)

-Ohio pays more than Ohio State?

-Is this considered income and is taxable? (opens a new set of employee questions)

Deciduous Forest Cat
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Member Since: 12/20/2004
Location: Ohio
Post Count: 4,378

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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/12/2015 5:08:57 PM

Seriously. If they get their tuition, room and board as part of a scholarship, what is the purpose of this stipend? What does "cost of attendance" really mean?

BillyTheCat
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Member Since: 10/6/2012
Post Count: 9,800

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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/12/2015 5:16:32 PM

It's a way of paying them more in an effort to stave off paying a wage.

OhioStunter
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Member Since: 2/18/2005
Location: Chicago
Post Count: 2,516

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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/12/2015 5:51:29 PM

-If it is meant to supplement their lifestyle with grocery, travel and other living expenses, why not find a means to control that with a reimbursement system?

Each scholarship student-athlete is allowed up to $3,000 allowance for travel to/from home, cell phone charges (I groan about that), and any special circumstance purchases.

Put the onus on the student-athletes to request those funds.

While it may add processing/audit costs, it would be more efficient overall than just issuing checks at will. Plus, it gets them ready for the business world when you have to go through that process (and in the real world, nothing is given to you). Or issue them gas cards, grocery cards and travel vouchers (no alcohol/tobacco)

Alan Swank
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Member Since: 12/11/2004
Location: Athens, OH
Post Count: 7,073

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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/12/2015 6:23:26 PM

Deciduous Forest Cat wrote:

Seriously. If they get their tuition, room and board as part of a scholarship, what is the purpose of this stipend? What does "cost of attendance" really mean?

According to the OU website it includes personal expenses and transportation.

https://www.ohio.edu/financialaid/postapply/postapply_cos...

OhioStunter
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Location: Chicago
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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/13/2015 5:30:50 PM

Alan Swank wrote:

Deciduous Forest Cat wrote:

Seriously. If they get their tuition, room and board as part of a scholarship, what is the purpose of this stipend? What does "cost of attendance" really mean?

According to the OU website it includes personal expenses and transportation.

https://www.ohio.edu/financialaid/postapply/postapply_cos...

"personal expenses" -- therein lies Pandora's box. Anything can be considered a personal expense, including an actual subscription to Pandora.

Alan Swank
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Member Since: 12/11/2004
Location: Athens, OH
Post Count: 7,073

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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/13/2015 9:25:22 PM

OhioStunter wrote:

Alan Swank wrote:

Deciduous Forest Cat wrote:

Seriously. If they get their tuition, room and board as part of a scholarship, what is the purpose of this stipend? What does "cost of attendance" really mean?

According to the OU website it includes personal expenses and transportation.

https://www.ohio.edu/financialaid/postapply/postapply_cos...

"personal expenses" -- therein lies Pandora's box. Anything can be considered a personal expense, including an actual subscription to Pandora.

And therein lies the potential problem. If I was an OU student paying almost $900 a year in fees to fund athletics and probably going into debt to gain a degree, I would have a great deal of difficulty getting my head around the fact that every scholarship athlete was getting $3200 a year to possibly go uptown.

UpSan Bobcat
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Member Since: 8/30/2005
Location: Upper Sandusky, OH
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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/14/2015 1:20:52 PM

This kind of reminds me of how recently on multiple occasions my wife and I have been given money or gift cards for our infant son. She wants to put it aside and be sure we spend it on him. I'd rather just put it in my pocket. That particular bill or gift card might be spent on anything, but if it is, I'll be spending a different bill or gift card on things for my son. There are plenty of things he has to have.

Some people are going to spend more responsibly than others, but I'd bet every athlete has at least $3,200 of necessities they will spend on.

OhioStunter
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Location: Chicago
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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/14/2015 3:10:34 PM

UpSan Bobcat wrote:

That's a good analogy UpSan. But this reminds me of a story that is pretty timely with back to school and Star Wars coming out. When I was heading into first grade, my grandmother gave me a $10 bill to buy school supplies. I was at JC Penney and I walked past the toy aisle -- they had Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi action figures! I could never find them at the stores I usually went to.

So with that $10 bill, I bought both figures. When it came time for me to check off my school supplies and I didn't have them, I had to admit I spent my money on toys instead of necessities. Sadly, I don't think that mindset really changes for many people when they become adults, let alone college students who are given a $3,200 check.

Last Edited: 8/14/2015 3:11:34 PM by OhioStunter

Jeff McKinney
Moderator

Member Since: 11/12/2004
Post Count: 6,102

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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/15/2015 12:09:50 AM

I'm sure there will be some issues to work out in implementing this policy. But I agree with the underlying premise--that college student athletes now have to work year round on their games. Non athletes have time for a part time job, but athletes don't really have time for a part time job. I support the full cost of attendance concept. But I agree that if the money is wasted on frivolities, that could generate resentment from other students.

These issues can be resolved IMO.

BillyTheCat
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Member Since: 10/6/2012
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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/15/2015 3:54:34 PM

You think $3,200 is high, check some of the ACC schools, and our amount is higher than some Big10 schools.

OhioStunter
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Member Since: 2/18/2005
Location: Chicago
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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/17/2015 1:08:41 PM

Interesting: Here is a select list of schools offering stipends less than Ohio:

Duke - $2200

Michigan State - $1872

Northwestern - $2492

OSU - $2602

Alabama - $2892

Michigan - $2204

Notre Dame - $1950

Vanderbilt - $2780

source: http://m.chronicle.com/article/At-Least-15-Athletics-Prog...

DelBobcat
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Member Since: 8/26/2010
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Post Count: 1,135

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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/17/2015 1:18:07 PM

When I was at OU on an academic scholarship (tuition and room and board) and moved off-campus I always had a few thousand left over for living expenses since my apartment and grocery shopping was cheaper than the cost of room and board on-campus. This was extremely helpful for other living expenses like gas, cell phone, and yes--trips to the bars. I see no reason why athletic scholarships shouldn't be able to offer this feature as well.

BA OHIO 2010, BS OHIO 2010, MA Delaware 2012

BillyTheCat
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Member Since: 10/6/2012
Post Count: 9,800

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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/17/2015 8:43:39 PM

DelBobcat wrote:

Athletic scholarships already offered this. Those who live off campus got the same checks just like you did. They are now getting a little extra.

cc-cat
General User

Member Since: 4/5/2006
Location: matthews, NC
Post Count: 3,887

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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/18/2015 8:29:57 AM

BillyTheCat wrote:

DelBobcat wrote:

Athletic scholarships already offered this. Those who live off campus got the same checks just like you did. They are now getting a little extra.

Good for them.

DelBobcat
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Member Since: 8/26/2010
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Post Count: 1,135

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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/18/2015 10:15:33 AM

BillyTheCat wrote:

DelBobcat wrote:

Athletic scholarships already offered this. Those who live off campus got the same checks just like you did. They are now getting a little extra.

Gotcha. I'd still say it's a good thing. I still had to work at Hungry Howie's to help out. Sometimes I would work 30 hour per week on top of my class schedule. Athletes obviously don't have that option.

BA OHIO 2010, BS OHIO 2010, MA Delaware 2012

Jeff McKinney
Moderator

Member Since: 11/12/2004
Post Count: 6,102

Status: Offline

RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/30/2015 2:39:46 PM

North Dakota State has decided to do $3400 on Full Cost of attendance. And they are FCS in football. Whether we like it or not, full cost of attendance is the wave of the present and future. The alternative is dropping to Division II or III. Or nonscholarship Division I. Whether that would be a good idea is another debate altogether and I'm not taking a stance on that in this thread.

The Optimist
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Member Since: 3/16/2007
Location: CLE
Post Count: 5,561

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RE: Full cost of attendance

Posted: 8/30/2015 3:42:44 PM

I was reading the Idaho board and saw them discussing NDSU... I learned Idaho is one of like 5-10 D-1 schools not offering cost of attendance.

Imagine the NDSU coaches walking into a recruits house and reminding them they will get a couple grand a year from NDSU but zero from Idaho. LOL... Why even bother staying at D-1? Commit the resources or just drop to D-2 and be done with it. I see a ton of value for schools in playing D-1 football. That value drops SIGNIFICANTLY if you're just basically giving up which is what not offering cost of attendance would be.

I really don't understand the argument against cost of attendance. I understand those who are against the spending that occurs at D-1 programs... I don't agree with their assessment, but I understand their thinking. I do not understand how someone could be in favor of D-1 football but be against cost of attendance. If you are against cost of attendance, just go all the way and argue that the school should not play D-1 football.

Last Edited: 8/30/2015 3:43:22 PM by The Optimist

I've seen crazier things happen.

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