Money Pinch In Offing For Colleges Students To Be Turned Away Unless Trends Shift, Panel Says

Colleges face a funding shortfall that could make them turn away large numbers of students early in the next century, says a report released Tuesday by a group dominated by college officials.

“Millions of Americans will be denied the opportunity to go to college because of the combined effect of enrollment growth, a sixfold increase in costs, flat funding, skyrocketing tuition and shrinking resources,” said Thomas Kean, co-chairman of the Commission on National Investment in Higher Education. The former New Jersey governor is president of Drew University.

The report calls for sharp increases in taxpayer support of higher education, but also recommends that colleges and universities operate more efficiently.

President Clinton has proposed large increases in federal support for higher education, which is noted in the report. At the same time, House Republicans have called attention to skyrocketing tuition costs and want to create a commission to study the issue.

The report says the added funding sought by Clinton isn’t enough. It also criticizes most of the increases for benefiting middle class rather than poorer families.

The 18 members of the commission, half of whom are chancellors or college presidents, said federal and state support for higher education has stagnated since 1976, causing a widening gap between costs and support.

The total number of students is supposed to grow from 10.3 million in 1995 to 13.2 million in 2015.

To handle those students, the institutions will have to spend about $151 billion in 2015 if costs grow at urrent rates, the report said. If government support continues at the current rate, tax dollars will supply $47 billion, while tuition, grants and endowments will provide $66 billion.

That means a funding shortfall of about $38 billion, the study said.

To curb costs, the report said, colleges need to streamline services and specialize more; find ways to measure the value of departments and productivity of faculty; and share more resources such as libraries and buildings.

The commission was created by the Council for Aid to Education, a subsidiary of RAND, a nonprofit organization that studies the role of corporate and other private support for education.

Commission members also include publishers, educational testing officials, an attorney and some business executives.