Maryland is in a bit of a different scenario because the Governor has made it a priority of his administration to increase affordability in higher education through tuition freezes. In-state, undergradautes attending 4-year colleges have enjoyed three straight years of tuition freezes. The Governor has vowed to do it once again, but will be challenged by the legislature. The Governor will likely ask for an increase of $25 to $30 million for higher education alone. A tuition freeze alone costs approximately $16 million.
Senate President Mike Miller has already spoken out against the idea of a tuition freeze, in light of proposed state layoffs possibly extending to1000 employees. Speaker of the House Mike Busch has floated the idea if differentiated tuition increases, particularly at UMCP.
The Governor recognizes the great need to maintain the cost of college for Maryland residents--it's one of the drivers of our state's economy and its a short-term investment that helps us retain Maryland citizens who might relocate if they attend college elsewhere. But, what cannot happen is that quality bottoms out at our institutions through decreased state revenue support not offset by any tuition increase at all. In other words, higher education and Maryland future cannot get caught in the middle of politics.
For the national picture, check out this article.
Coming weeks and months will be telling. What are your thoughts on a tuition freeze? Increasing funding for higher education while laying off state workers?
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3 comments:
Please, not another tuition freeze! Would it be possible to put something together to drill it into the collective mind of Annapolis that these "freezes" only delay rising costs? Rather than helping anybody, we're just ensuring that our younger siblings will have to pay far more to go to college than we did.
Let's start gradually raising tuition now so that there isn't a "sticker shock" a few years down the line. You'd think Maryland would have learned that after BGE...
@ SteelWolf...
You raise a good point, and one that we should all be concerned with. The difference between regulation of BGE rates and of freezing tuition is that higher education is also partially funded by the state government. I tend to support a tuition freeze in the case that the state provides supplemental funds to "purchase" the tuition freeze. In other words, the state sends additional dollars to offset the lost revenue.
Some argue that the money used to supplement frozen tuition should be used to supplement the already existing funds, presumably raising the quality of education. Others might argue that students should pay the share of the increase in the cost of education.
I tend to side with the Governor in this policy debate, investing in affordability. In other words, while some Governors invest in the infrastructure or research dollars of higher education, Governor O'Malley has chose to increase state support for higher education to supplement the affordability measure for citizens.
The looming question is whether the money will still come to higher education if tuition is increased. Most importantly, we must ensure that higher education does not get caught in the middle of a "political compromise" with a tuition freeze and cut state support.
I agree with Josh. It would be a disaster if university costs suddenly jump while we are in the midst of one of the worst recessions in decades. How are parents and students expected to pay rising college costs if they are getting laid off or facing salary cuts?
There are thousands of USM students already juggling several jobs, scholarships and loans just to get a college education and secure a better future. A tuition increase is going to compound the burden of the bleak economy and result in students being forced to drop out or postpone their education.
This will be a blow to the progress of the state as it will reduce the number of college educated people entering the work force.
The tuition freeze and the consequent increase in government expenditure is not a delay in rising costs. It is a much needed investment in human capital as well as the future of Maryland and the country as a whole.
A highly educated work force stands a better chance at overcoming and solving the problem of future tuition increases!
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