But the primary form of financial aid remains the student loan. The loan burden can be oppressive for students, distorting their career and family choices. The historical mission of Notre Dame had been the provision of affordable education in the Catholic tradition to undergrads with research and grad programs in a complementary role. The relentless increase of tuition over the past two decades reflects a shift in emphasis to the pursuit of money and prestige as a Research University. A freeze or rollback in tuition could symbolize a redirection of that shift.
Research is important, especially in the sciences.
But Notre Dame ought not to have a regular faculty which teaches less and less to students who pay more and more. In the pursuit of prestige and money, the undergrad mission is devalued. Members of our family were Notre Dame undergrads every year from 1977 to 2000 in various majors. Our experience, admittedly subjective but supported by others, is that, in the variety of available courses, class size, quality of teaching, and the recognition of students as persons, the undergrad experience at Notre Dame has deteriorated since 1977. If I joined the Sorin Society perhaps I could raise these questions.