If only tuition costs followed the trends of the economy.

As tuition costs around the country continue to climb, including Creighton University, students are seeking new ways to bring the cost of an undergraduate education down. Some choose to live at home or in more affordable housing at the expense of convenience. Others choose first or second jobs.

But there’s a third option, one that requires no extra time or work on the part of the student. It can pay off even full tuition, amounting to almost $30,000 at Creighton.

Creighton is one of many universities to offer full tuition remission, which is to say that if you are the spouse or child of a full-time employee, such as a professor, of at least three years, Creighton will foot the bill for you to go to school. Some claim this as an unfair policy as in most cases financial aid, understandably, is rewarded by merit rather than relation.

While Creighton is not the only university to offer full tuition remission, many others take a much more modest approach.

By comparison, while the University of Nebraska at Lincoln offers a similar program, it only covers 15 credit hours per academic year, whereas Creighton University offers a much more generous 136 credit hours no matter when they’d be taken.

Is such a policy unfair? From a certain perspective, perhaps. Such generous scholarships are typically rewarded for outstanding behavior in or out of the classroom.

But even so, do those who dedicate so much of their time to the pursuit of education under Creighton’s banner not deserve some privileges? In comparison to the rigorous financial and time commitment needed to attain a graduate degree, most professor’s wages are modest at best.

Fortunately this opens the door for universities such as Creighton to offer their employees privileges to being a part of the faculty and staff. These advantages are not only consistent with the Jesuit values that Creighton aims to embody, but allow for a stronger community on Creighton’s campus as a whole.

When faculty and staff have a spouse or child enrolled in the university, what once may have been just a job suddenly becomes a personal connection with Creighton’s education.

Through this personal stake, the relationship with the university ascends to a much more personal level.

Nothing is perfect, especially when talking about an educational institution. But we must strive for community and opportunity within our campus bubble, because no matter what, we all have a stake in this university.