The following is an letter addressed to The University of Akron President Scott Scarborough,  written and signed by the UA Undergraduate Student Government’s president and vice president Taylor Swift and Richard Angeletti.

Dear Dr. Scarborough:

As the elected governing body, it is Undergraduate Student Government’s duty to address administration on behalf of the student body. Students are dismayed by the drastic and sudden increase in financial pressure The University of Akron is applying to currently enrolled students. We feel that it is only right for us to share with you the dissatisfaction and disbelief that the 26,000 students you currently serve are feeling. An overwhelming and unprecedented number of students have reached out to USG to vocalize their dissatisfaction not only with this monumental decision, but also many other capstone decisions that have taken place in the past few months.

We understand the direction you are taking in regards to the rate per credit hour. Incentivizing potential students with a lower cost per credit hour to bring and keep them at The University of Akron makes sense, and we are pleased with the steps that have been taken to increase retention rates. It is also reasonable to make students pay later on during their academic careers knowing they received a lower cost per credit hour at the onset of their college career. However, we cannot accept the method of implementation, as the current situation is unfavorable to currently enrolled students.

You have spent your entire tenure here at The University of Akron with promise of change and new directions to help benefit student success. We are asking you to please take a step back and truly look at the agenda that is being pushed and how your decisions are directly harming the student body’s and public’s opinion of our university. We are also requesting you look at the current scholarship cap and look to match the cap to the new amount equivalent to tuition and fees. Finally, we urge you to re-evaluate the execution of the fees to allow a grace period, or exemption for junior and senior students who have not and are unable to feel the benefits of the GenEd Core program. Please try to recognize our requests to help current and future students on the campus of this great university.

Regards,

Taylor Swift and Richard Angeletti

President and Vice President, Undergraduate Student Government