College is a business and businesses have to stay competitive. College students are consumers. Your college tuition inflates every year; don’t you want to know what it’s going toward?

You as a student pay an unbelievable amount of money for a college education, but students tend not to be conscious consumers. You may not know exactly what you are paying for or where your money is going. Part of this is the lack of transparency at the university level. Part of this is the lack involvement at the students’ level. You should want to know what the university is doing to make your life, as the consumer, better.

Chancellor Kent Syverud has started the Fast Forward initiative to better Syracuse University, for you, the consumer. To understand what you pay for, you can attend one of three Town Halls the Chancellor is holding to discuss his plans to better the university. These Town Halls will be held on Monday, Sept. 22 at 4:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel on Tuesday, Sept. 30 from 4–5:30 p.m. in the Maxwell Auditorium, and on Monday, Oct. 6 from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. in 010 Crouse-Hinds Hall.

Go and find out what you are paying for, be a conscious consumer, and push the university to better itself for you.

If you have any questions about how the initiative will affect your home college specifically, you can ask them in the question-and-answer session immediately following. You can also share your ideas on how the program could improve either in these Town Hall forums or on the Fast Forward website.

Patty Terhune
Member of Undergraduates for a Better Education
Syracuse University ‘17