College students often are depicted as poor, struggling young men and women attempting to receive a higher education.

Now, attaining a college degree may become more difficult as the cost of tuition is expected to rise.

Public and private universities across the nation have opted to increase tuition rates.

The University of Alabama in Huntsville has raised its tuition by 7 percent, and Tompkins Cortland Community College in Ithaca, N.Y., recently voted on a 3.9 percent increase for full-time students.

NIU’s Board of Trustees is expected to consider a tuition increase at Thursday’s meeting.

All of this makes me wonder: Why do we need another tuition hike?

Many students decide to attend state schools because college is so expensive. What happens when even state schools become too costly to attend?

It would appear as though more students will have to take out private loans to cover the expenses that go along with attending college. The problem with private loans is that, unlike federal loans, there is no law controlling the interest rates.

Many students stay in debt for a large portion of their adult life.

Furthermore, college may already seem like an impossible goal to reach for people from low-income backgrounds. This continual tuition increase will make receiving a post-secondary education that much more difficult.

I may not be a financial guru, but I do have a few suggestions on how to keep costs down here at NIU, thus keeping tuition cost at the status quo.

Get rid of extra requirements

I constantly hear many of my peers say, “What does this class have to do with my major?” Getting rid of classes that we most likely will not use would help the university save money. (For example, I’m journalism major, yet I have to take classes such as French and calculus.) By cutting the fat, the university would save money simply because it would not have to hire as many faculty.

Allocate money efficiently

As much as I love lifting weights at the Campus Recreational Center (that was a lie – I don’t believe in lifting weights), the university would benefit from spending more money on the educational side of campus, as opposed to the recreational half. After all, we came to NIU for a degree, not to work out. NIU spends more money on recreation than most schools.

Attract out-of-state students

Out-of-state students pay more for tuition than in-state students. To encourage students from neighboring states to attend, NIU would have to become better known at the national level, similar to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

There are other options to help the university increase money besides raising tuition. Besides, how would a college function if it became too expensive for any of us to afford?