State must do better with our colleges
The following commentary, which does not necessarily reflect the views of The Spokesman-Review’s editorial board, appeared Sunday in The (Olympia) Olympian:
This state’s higher education system is faltering. Students are being turned away, yet employers say there are not enough trained workers to fill all of the job vacancies.
Initiative 884, which is before voters in November, would raise the state’s sales tax to fund education programs, including higher college enrollments, but it is clear that the state Legislature also must find the funds to allow more students to enter public colleges and universities.
A college education is one ticket to success. Statistics from the 2000 census show the following annual-salaries breakdown by education level:
• $18,900 for a person who has not graduated from high school.
• $25,900 for a high school graduate.
• $31,200 for a person with some college education.
• $33,000 for a student with an AA degree.
• $45,400 for a bachelor’s degree.
But in Washington state, that college degree is beyond the reach of too many people. Tuition costs are clearly a factor.
The state’s Higher Education Coordinating Board reports that since 1993, the rate of inflation in Washington state has climbed 23 percent. Disposable income is up 54 percent during the same time period, yet college tuition rates have jumped 114 percent. Skyrocketing tuition rates run counter to the mandate of state community and technical colleges, whose mission it is to open the doors to higher education at a cost within the reach of average individuals.
The high tuition/high financial aid model adopted in this state might work for four-year schools, but it’s counterproductive at the community college level. A primary purpose of the community and technical colleges is to allow men and women to get their basic course studies under their belt before transferring to a four-year school for a bachelor’s degree.
Statistics show that an increasing number of students are following that path. Forty-one percent of bachelor’s degree earners in 2002 transferred from the community college level. That’s up from 32 percent in 1988. Yet, increasingly, those transfer students are finding the doors at the four-year schools slammed shut to them.
It used to be that community college graduates with a 2.75 grade-point average were guaranteed a slot in a state four-year school. Not anymore.
It started with the University of Washington when admission officials announced that the university will not accept applications from transfer students before next spring and possibly not until next summer. By fall, community college students also can expect to find the door closed at the university’s branch campuses in Tacoma and Bothell. The other four-year schools are facing similar pressure. The culprit is a lack of student enrollment slots at public universities, and that makes this a legislative issue.
In January, when legislators adopt a two-year budget, they must fund additional college and university positions while taking a hard look at escalating tuition costs and their impact on enrollments. The constitution says education is the paramount duty of the state. It’s time for legislators to live up to that obligation.