Economic crisis maymake a UTEP education out of reach

By Mario Chacon

“The fee for threegraduate courses here is around $2,700; now convert that into pesos and it’sjust insane!”

The ongoing economic crisis in the U.S. is having a rippleeffect throughout the entire world. For El Pasoans to see an example of this,they need not to look further than their neighbors to the south.

In the past few months, the value of Mexico’s currency (thepeso) has decreased dramatically in comparison to the dollar. Some experts saythat one of the main reasons for the devaluation is that a lot of investorswithdrew their money from the Mexican stock market as a direct result of thefinancial crisis that began in the United States.  This devaluation isalso affecting Mexican students at UTEP, which according to universitystatistics make up 8.7 percent of the student population. While tuition at UTEPis considered affordable, and the university also offers students various waysof paying for their education such as the emergency tuition loan and the easypay installment plan, students from Mexico are still struggling to pay theirtuition and fees in dollars. 

Additionally, international students from Mexico may alsoqualify for the Programa de Asistencia Estudiantil (PASE), which allows them topay the same tuition rate as Texas residents. Even with this assistance, a lotof these students find it hard to make ends meet. 

“My money is worth 25t0 40 percent less.”

To put this into perspective, before the devaluation, thedollar equaled about 10.20 to 10.50 pesos, and a tuition bill of $2,500 wouldcost a Mexican student 25,500 to 27,500 pesos. At the current exchange rate of15 pesos to the dollar, that same tuition bill costs students 37,500 pesos fora single semester at UTEP. 

Jaime Acosta, a senior multidisciplinary studies andparticipant in the PASE program, says that even though he is well-paid as avisa assistant at the U.S. Consulate, he is seriously affected by thedevaluation. “I am spending about 80 percent of my income in tuition. I have afull-time, well-paid job in Juárez, but I’m still struggling to pay for mytuition and books,” says Jaime. “I used to share a two-bedroom apartment lastyear with a roommate, but I had to move back to my parents’ house in December becauseit was getting more difficult for me to cover all my living expenses bymyself.”

Richard Padilla, vice president of student affairs, saysthat UTEP has been very conservative and judicious when it comes to increasingtuition and fees. “The university currently charges less in tuition and feesthan 15 other public universities in the state of Texas,” Padilla says. “We arevery concerned about the current economic situation, and we are doingeverything we can to keep tuition costs stable, without it having a negativeeffect on the quality of education.” 

Arturo Arias, a senior civil engineering major fromChihuahua, Mexico, says he has had to make several lifestyle changes in orderto continue with school. “My money is worth 25 to 40 percent less. I no longerpurchase luxury items and now I only spend money on essential living expenses,”Arturo says. “My family, as a result of the devaluation, visits El Paso muchless than normal. Also, since my family is my main financial support, they arealso strained by the increase in my living expenses.” Arturo also says thateven though the devaluation has affected him, he considers himself luckybecause he will be graduating this semester. While Arturo says he appreciatesthe assistance from programs such as PASE, he wishes the university wouldprovide additional support for Mexican students during this crisis so that theycan continue their education. “Unfortunately, I believe that a lot ofinternational students will not be back next semester.”

University officials are concerned that the number ofMexican students attending UTEP will decrease dramatically if the value of thepeso does not stabilize or continues to drop. “I have heard students talk aboutone of two scenarios: They’re either not going to come back next semester sothat they can work and save up money in order to continue studying here, orthey’re just not coming back,” says Leah Moore, international student advisorat the Office of International Programs. 

“Unfortunately, I believe that a lot of internationalstudents will not be back next semester.”

The number of international students enrolled at UTEP hasdecreased slightly for the past three years, the numbers range from 1,690 in2005 to an estimated 1,579 in 2008.

A junior psychology major from Parral, Mexico, who wishes toremain anonymous, says the economic situation has severely affected her family.“Since my parents live and work in Mexico, they have to send me more money foreducation expenses. For example, they used to send me 30,000 pesos, they nowhave to send me around 40,000 pesos per semester just so I can pay my tuition,”she says. 

She also says that her parents visit a lot less due to thedevaluation, but that when they do visit they try helping her out by bringing herfood items. “When they do visit me, they bring me groceries like canned food orstuff that lasts a long time so I don’t have to buy them here,” she says. Inorder to deal with the crisis, she plans to apply for various scholarships, butthat it is hard to get a good one even with a good GPA because a great numberof the scholarships require that the applicant be either a U.S. citizen orresident (green card holder). Unfortunately, this excludes many internationalstudents.

Although the Office of Student Financial Aid deals mainlywith state and federal aid programs that require students to either be apermanent resident or a U.S. citizen, there are some alternatives that mayprovide Mexican students some financial assistance. “We do offer one program, InternationalTexas Public Education Grant for International Students, which is a need-basedgrant available to international students after they have been enrolled at UTEPfor a year,” says Raul Lerma, director of the financial aid office.“International students can also look into private, alternative education loanswith major banks, but they typically will require a U.S. citizen or at least apermanent resident alien to co-sign for them. Unfortunately, due to the currenteconomic situation, many lenders do not offer these loans anymore.” 

Lerma also reminds students that UTEP offers the Easy Payplan, which allows them to pay their tuition and fees in installments afterpaying  an initial 20 percent of their tuition bill, which they may paywith a short-term loan from the university.

For some Mexican national students, such as Araceli Arroyos,a graduate student in bilingual education from Ciudad Juárez, the assistance isnot enough for them to stay and finish their education. She says she is unableto finish her master’s degree as a result of the present crisis. “Thedevaluation has affected me a lot. I’m a member of PASE, but I still findtuition to be very high,” Araceli says. “The fee for three graduate courseshere is around $2,700; now convert that into pesos and it’s just insane! Ihaven’t even been able to pay for my fall semester. I have a hold because ofthis, and therefore I have not been able to continue with my studies.”

En Breve

Entre octubre del año pasado y lo que ha transcurrido del2009, el peso mexicano ha perdido más del 30 por ciento de su valor frente aldólar, impactando las finanzas y los proyectos de cientos de estudiantesinternacionales de UTEP.

Araceli Arroyos, estudiante graduada en educación bilingüe,asegura que debido a la devaluación no podrá continuar con su maestría. A pesarde que es parte del programa Programa de Asistencia Estudiantil–que permite aciertos alumnos mexicanos pagar colegiatura como si fueran residentes deTexas–dice que la cantidad a pagar convertida en pesos es simplementeincreíble. “Ni siquiera he podido pagar por el semestre del otoño (pasado).Tengo una restricción (hold), por lo tanto, no he podido continuar con misestudios.”

De acuerdo con estatísticas de UTEP, el 8.7 por ciento de lapoblacion estudiantil está conformada por mexicanos. Antes de la devaluación,estos estudiantes pagaban en promedio el equivalente a 25,500 pesos porsemestre, pero ahora pagan hasta 37,500 pesos, despendiendo del tipo de cambio.

Jaime Acosta, alumno de estudios multidisciplinarlos, diceverse bastante afectado por la devaluación ya que gasta el 80 por ciento de suingreso en su educación. “Yo solía compartir un departamento de dos cuartos elaño pasado con un compañero, pero tuve que regresar a vivir a casa de mis papásen diciembre porque se estaba poniendo más difícil cubrir todos mis gastos”,dice Jaime. 

Richard Padilla, vicepresidente de asuntos estudiantiles,dice que UTEP ha sido muy cuidadosa en el manejo de las colegiaturas yhonorarios. “La universidad actualmente cobra menos en la cuota y loshonorarios que otras 15 universidades públicas en el estado de Texas”, dicePadilla. “Estamos muy consternados con la situación económica actual y estamoshaciendo todo lo que podemos para mantener los costos de las colegiaturasestables, sin tener un efecto negativo en la calidad de la educación”.