AUSTIN – Students from the state’s leading public universities have put out a call for more accountability, accessibility and affordability in Texas higher education.

The students, Adriane Purdom of the University of Texas, Nathan McDaniel of Texas State University, Alicia Stewart of Texas A&M University, and Cole Bessner of the University of Houston, are featured in the latest video to be released by Rock the Ivory Tower, an initiative of Americans for Prosperity Foundation.

"With no help from my parents, I've had to work countless jobs and rely on loans to help pay for college,” said Adriane Prudom. “With the rise in tuition, my loan debt is increasing. Trying to find more job hours in a suffering economy is a nightmare. We don't need the added stress of higher tuition when students are already struggling as it is."

The video can be viewed at http://youtu.be/nsDqQYvmH14.

“Students are fed up with the fact that it is becoming more and more expensive to get a degree. They are being priced out of their own futures,” said AFPF State Director Peggy Venable. “Public universities need to adopt measures that will ensure every tax and tuition dollar is being spent to make sure educating students is the No. 1 priority.”

Students are asking Texans to sign a petition calling for public university officials to:

• Provide more transparency within the universities’ budget systems.
• Ensure the most efficient and productive use of tax dollars.
• Ensure that public universities are more accessible and affordable.
• Provide a reasonable way for students to graduate without being burdened by overwhelming student debt.

The petition is available at www.RockTheIvoryTower.com.

“Tuition at public universities in Texas has increased 83 percent since 2003. Nationally, the average student graduates with $24,000 in student loan debt, and student loan debt now surpasses all credit card debt in the country, nearing $1 trillion. If we want an educated workforce down the road, then this has to stop. Otherwise, education and all of the opportunities it brings will be out of reach,” Venable said.

“Texans care about the accessibility, affordability, and transparency of higher education,” said Chris Covo, a recent graduate of Texas State University who leads the Rock the Ivory Tower effort. “Students expect the public institutions of our great state to deliver all of this without compromising the highest quality. Young people are getting involved and speaking out – I hope our elected officials and institutions begin to seriously take notice. Our future is counting on it.”