The policy debate of freezing tuition for in-state, undergraduate students has come to the spotlight in recent days. Despite the challenging financial times in the state, the Governor has brought the proposal to the fore heralding it as one of his highlights of the budget proposal. In his State of the State Address, O'Malley took on critics directly:Is the fight for affordable college about politics??? You’re darn right it’s about politics. It’s about the politics of inclusion. It’s about the politics of prosperity. It’s about the politics of opportunity. It’s about the politics of posterity. It’s about the politics of my kids and yours. It’s about the politics of the hardworking people we serve. You’re darn right it’s about politics.
Legislative leaders have a different perspective on the issue, particularly Senate President Mike Miller, highlighted in The Sun today. House Speaker Mike Busch has spoken out, explaining that increased investment should be made in community colleges. The Governor has invested $16.9 million in the FY2010 budget to fund the tuition freeze.
USM officials, though, stand strong behind the Governor. Chancellor Kirwan highlights the psycological access impediment of "sticker shock." As many of us know, relying solely upon financial aid and loans for funding a college education is unreliable and stressful.
The Commission to Develop the Maryland Model for Funding Higher Education, commonly known as the Bohanan Comission, proposed in its final report that Maryland strive to reach the 50th percentile in tuition costs in the United States. Currently, tuition at public institutions ranks 16th in the US and will rank 18th if a tuition freeze is funded this year. Notably, after two years of double-digit increases in tuition under the Ehrlich administration, tuition in Maryland shot up to 6th nationally.
It's important to put the cost of education into perspective for Maryland families. Between 2002 and 2007, tuition costs grew by 44.7%. At the same time, median income grew by only 16.4%. In other words, tuition is growing three times as fast as family wealth, making higher education significantly less affordable for Maryland families. Trends like this make higher education less and less a public comodity and more for those who can afford it or earn merit scholarships. And, in tough fiscal times, families who are not eligible for financial aid are struggling to pay for college otherwise.
USM officials and the Governor recognize the need to maintain affordability for Maryland students and families. Instead of expanding quality during tough times, legislators should maintain their dedication to holding the line on affordability to ensure that college remains a public good.
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2 comments:
Another flawed argument from the Governor. As we're seeing here at UMBC, the money students supposedly save by paying the same tuition is taken from them on the back end, through mandatory student fees.
Instead of gradually increasing tuition to keep pace with the times, the USM continues to endorse these artificial holds to increase affordability. At the same time, they snatch money out of the back pockets of these same students by decreasing services and increasing fees.
Perhaps Chancellor Kirwan hasn't fully considered the "sticker shock" students will be facing when tuition finally jumps to cover the ground it has lost during these past five years of false "freezes."
Thanks for your comments, Steelwolf. You might notice from my series of posts that I disagree with you on this particular policy analysis. The fundamental reason for this is that, in my view, you fail to recognize a fundamental component of the proposal which is "buy-out" funding from the State coffers to cover the cost of the tuition that would have been collected. This year, that amount is $16.9 million. Instead of investing in expanding quality, the Governor has made a deliberate public policy decision to invest in affordability so that more Marylanders can access public higher education. So, this state investment piece will ensure that the cap is not "artificial," and therefore requiring a massive increase in tuition when it comes off (much like BGE rates). The only possibility for tuition to be significantly increased upon the removal of the tuition freeze is if members of the Board of Regents want to significantly expand quality.
Now, Maryland institutions currently are the 16th most expensive nationwide, down from 6th a few years ago. If a tuition freeze holds, we will be 18th this year. The stated goal (by the Commission to Develop a Maryland Model for Funding Higher Education http://mlis.state.md.us/other/Funding_Higher_Ed/index.htm) is to be ranked 25th. So, we have a ways to go.
Hopefully this makes sense.
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