Spokane7
65°
February 19, 2011 in Opinion
Editorial: Washington must invest in higher education
Our leaders are great at selling the value of higher education and its importance to the overall health of national, state and local economies, but they fail in keeping the doors of public institutions propped open to qualified students. In fact, the rhetoric seems to rise in inverse proportion to the investment.
In 1987, Washington state covered 80 percent of an in-state student’s costs at its public colleges and universities. Recent projections indicate that this could drop to 40 percent by 2013. In the past 18 months, Washington State University has been hit with a 30 percent funding cut and many classes and majors have been eliminated. The long slide in state support corresponds with a steady rise in outstanding loans. A typical WSU graduate is handed a diploma and about $20,000 in debt, thanks to a near doubling of tuition in the past decade.
To make matters worse, there is the news that one of the state’s solutions to this college access problem needs to be limited for future participants.
The Guaranteed Education Tuition program was begun in 1998 and it allows participants to prepay for college at today’s prices for future use. The idea was that the state would receive money upfront to invest and these investments would earn enough to offset tuition increases. However, GET investments have lagged tuition hikes, so the state needs to either pare the program for new enrollees or face backfilling the accounts with scarce public dollars. These necessary legislative changes will mean that more costs will be shifted to students and their families.
Current and prospective students and their families worry that this crazy train of costs will derail their dreams, but this ought to concern everyone. There is little doubt that the need for a college education has increased. The statistics for how college graduates fare over their lifetimes are familiar. The state (and the nation) would benefit from producing more college graduates in a competitive global environment.
But there comes a point where the upfront costs are so exorbitant that it frustrates even the most resourceful student. Already, they are taking on more jobs (if they can find them in this economy) and more debt. Many are heading off to community colleges for two years, before attending four-year institutions. Still others are earning college credits while in high school.
The traditional college experience has succumbed to a variety of survival strategies. That’s not all bad, but it has its limits.
Some small steps have been taken in response. Schools are pursuing ways to ensure that students are actually making progress toward a degree, rather than languishing at taxpayer expense. They’re also doing a better job of matching financial aid to qualified students. Starting this fall, a new federal law will require public institutions to place calculators on their websites so that prospective students can plug in their economic status to see what the true cost will be.
However, none of that is a substitute for increasing public investment in higher education. Until our leaders can find a way to walk that talk, the problem will grow increasingly dire.
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ChefGus/ John Olsen on February 19 at 7:26 a.m.
I have several “friends/clients” at Shalom in the morning for a breakfast, and for dinner on Monday night that are students, in high school, and at our local Community College’s and at Eastern who are trying their level best to create a new healthy future for themselves by getting more education. Mary my partner is Dean of Library Services a and Media at the SCC campus and before that at NIC who knows and has known of multiple students living in their cars, and showering at the gym in pursuit of a better life. It takes students in these circumstances much longer to complete their education…. add into that single parents who work, and on and on… and it is not too difficult for me to draw the simple conclusion that we are shooting our selves in the foot by halting the progress these people, young and old, are making to become productive, tax paying, competent citizens.
The line out the door is long, and enrollment could easily be increased… competition to even get in to the U.W. is at a level never seen before… but what is missed is the access to the less wealthy students, who are competent but not high grade point folks is going by the way… and WE are losing them, and subjecting them to permanent low income and homelessness … Come on down and meet some of them.. John
hawken on February 19 at 7:28 a.m.
Our whole nation has had their dreams derailed due to the deep recession we are suffering and the massive debt we have incurred for decades.
Even so, in yesterday’s article, the SR reported that Republicans fought for education at the expense of welfare in the $242 million dollar cuts that just took place. The Dems fought for and won welfare at the expense of education.
This illustrates again, that liberals’ first priority is to grow the nanny, welfare state. At both the state and federal level.
Orphan on February 19 at 8:18 a.m.
I could have sent all three of my kids off to a 4 year out of state school if I had wanted to. What I did was tell all 3 go to 2 years of Junior College show me the grades and I will pay for 2 years at a 4 year in state school as long as you have the grades. We need to put similar requirements onto the general public before we spend our money on more higher education.
berrybestfarm on February 19 at 9:34 a.m.
I was one of those poor students who lived in my car, showered at the gym and worked a full time plus job even with a finacial aid and loan package. It was at the expense of my grades to be sure but I was determined and made it. After graduating from college under these circumstances every other challenge in my life has been relatively easy and my self-confidence in what I can achieve has been unthwarted. But, I would never wish the experience on anyone—it was brutal. We have seen over and over and over that the best bang for our buck is education. Education including higer ed has to be a societal priority. Like every other government institution we need to figure out first how to reduce the cost. Many colleges have started in the right direction by eliminating majors and departments with sparse participation.
Orphan on February 19 at 10:35 a.m.
Berrybestfarm You most likely learned more out of college than when you were attending classes, good on ya.
We can reduce college costs by simply puting grade requirements, attendance requirements and caps on how much we will spend per student lifetime. Your idea of eliminating majors with sparce participation is a good one. Majors with sparce participation could be offered at one state ran college per state.
When I am spending my own money I want value for it. I think we should be asking for value for our tax money as well.
valleyman on February 19 at 10:46 a.m.
You guys are nailing if this morning! Increase access to 2 year schools, and encourage more students to work for what they think they’re entitled to.
The school of life teaches much but only if those lessons can be planted in a fertile mind…