Higher Education Access Crisis Imperils State’s Future
One of my greatest pleasures as president of Washington State University is sharing with our graduates their commencement day feelings of success and optimism. Unfortunately, this graduation euphoria contrasts sharply with the growing worry of many Washington parents that their children will not be able to attend one of our state’s public universities.
Some dread not being able to afford to send their children to college. Others are anxious about debts piling up. Some who have saved for years are disheartened that there might not be room at a state university for their daughter or son.
Their fears are real - and justified. Students from middle class and disadvantaged families in our state already are being shut out of a chance to earn a bachelor’s degree. More will be unless we act.
One statement of worry came through loud and clear at student rallies at our public universities earlier this year: Tuition is too high. During the past 10 years, legislatively-mandated tuition at WSU and the University of Washington increased by 122 percent, from $1,308 to $2,908 per year. As recently as the 1992-93 school year, instate students paid 33 percent of the cost of their education; today, they pay 41 percent.
We risk returning college to the elitist advantage it was in the mid-1800s, when only the rich could afford to attend. And we risk paying more and more taxes to support those closed out of education.
The jump in tuition is just part of our state’s higher education crisis. The other part is restrictions on enrollments in the face of growing demand. Washington today ranks 50th among all states in the percentage of its residents enrolled in public four-year colleges or universities.
The access problem will get worse, not better. High school graduates in the state will increase more than 50 percent from this spring to the year 2010. This means more students will seek higher education opportunities just as those opportunities will be constrained by further budget cuts - unless our state takes new approaches to higher education delivery and funding.
Denying thousands of individuals - perhaps even your children and grandchildren - access to public higher education is indeed a crisis. It is well documented that the farther you go in gaining an education, the more likely it is that you will be a productive, taxpaying citizen and the less likely you will be unemployed, supported by social services or in jail.
If we don’t increase opportunities to complete college, we doom many people to low wages or unemployment. High-paying jobs in Washington will go to people educated in other states. The citizen who doesn’t get the degree - and doesn’t get the job - gets cheated.
Solving this access crisis requires action by the Legislature, supporters of higher education and individual public universities themselves. The following are solutions WSU advocates.
Reform state support of public higher education
The tuition bill sponsored by Sen. Nita Rinehart (D-Seattle), chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, is a critical reform. If this bill becomes law, state general funds for higher education would increase at the same rate that tuition increases - and the rate would be indexed to growth in statewide per capita income. Parents and students would see more reasonable tuition increases of about 3 or 4 percent per year and access could be expanded.
Increase private scholarship and fellowship support
Public universities in Washington must ask alumni, friends, and corporations to help us ease the financial burden by donating more scholarships and fellowships. This private support will offset a part of the recent steep tuition increases.
Extend education off campus
Higher education is using new methods to deliver classes and these changes must be expanded. For example, using videotape, cable TV, satellites, computer links and other technology, placebound students in Washington can now complete a WSU bachelor’s degree in social sciences.
Expand branch campus enrollment rapidly
Public universities in our state are addressing the growing number of placebound and job-bound students with additional campuses in urban areas. Examples are WSU’s branch campuses in Spokane, Tri-Cities and Vancouver; the UW’s branches in Tacoma and Bothell; and Eastern Washington University’s co-location in Spokane. These campuses complement our state’s twoyear community colleges and should be developed with 8 to 10 percent enrollment growth annually.
Fund gradual growth on main campuses
With Legislature support, student enrollment at the main campuses of state public universities could increase gradually, in the 2 to 3 percent range. This growth would maintain high-quality education, and increase access.
Increase our own productivity
Approaches to increasing productivity include not only technology but also streamlined business operations and reorganized learning support and retention programs. Over the past six years, at WSU, the number of graduates increased 31 percent, while the number of full-time equivalent faculty increased just 9.9 percent.
WSU, like other universities, is aggressively moving toward an innovative future. We are the future of the state of Washington.
What action can you take? Let our state leaders know you are concerned about the access crisis.
Among legislators with a firm grasp of the problem is Sen. Eugene Prince (R-Thornton), who wrote: “Qualified students are being turned away in droves because schools lack the money to fill up their classrooms. Every day we move closer toward an unskilled work force, lower wages and ultimately less tax revenues. Simply put - if we continue to ignore higher education, we will put a damper on our economy.”
The higher education access crisis in our state is real and will get worse without your help.
MEMO: Samuel H. Smith has been president of the four-campus Washington State University since 1985.