Take Action! Textbooks

Legislators will be considering textbook legislation is the next few days.  I have drafted an automated letter through an online program.  When you get a moment, please take 15 seconds and send the letter if you agree with the content.  Here is the link:

http://capwiz.com/usmd/issues/alert/?alertid=12755776&PROCESS=Take+Action

Action is time sensitive, so the sooner the better.

Tuition freeze right move for Maryland's future

Jonathan Sachs, Student Body President at UMCP, and I submitted an op-ed to The Baltimore Sun regarding the possibility of a tuition freeze.  Check out the article or read it here:

As students who are directly affected by the cost of tuition, we believe it is important to explain why a fourth straight tuition freeze for resident undergraduate students at our public universities is so important for Maryland. 

Even with tuition frozen for three years, student costs have increased. Since 2005, mandatory fees for students (for parking, student unions and recreation services) have increased 15 percent; room, by 14 percent; and board, by 13 percent at the University of Maryland, College Park. Couple these increases with the rising costs of textbooks (increasing at four times the rate of inflation), transportation and other associated costs, and an in-state student's annual bill can reach more than $20,000.

Most students in the University System of Maryland are not wealthy. Our parents are teachers, government workers, nurses and police officers. This economic crisis has hit our families hard, and we need any financial break we can get to continue pursuing a college degree - which will better position us to contribute to Maryland's vibrant, knowledge-based economy. 

We need a tuition freeze to help keep costs affordable so that we can stay enrolled. Maryland is witnessing an amazing transformation in public higher education. New facilities are being built on campuses across the state, and academic standards continue to rise. The state's public universities are ranked among the nation's best and are educating more students than ever. At the same time, our classes are more racially and socioeconomically diverse than previous classes. 

Continuing the tuition freeze will not hinder this growth at all. To the contrary, it will help open doors for more Marylanders to share the outstanding opportunity of attending a public university. The proposed freeze would cost the state $16 million, a small fraction of the more than $1 billion in state investment in higher education each year. 

"Governing is choosing," and Gov. Martin O'Malley has chosen to invest in Maryland's future, so that we can fill the jobs of our state's advancing economy. This is a long-term, worthwhile strategy for investing in the minds needed for Maryland's future success.

Jonathan Sachs is Student Government Association president at the University of Maryland, College Park. Josh Michael is a student member of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents and a UMBC student.

Tuition Freeze becoming a reality

The announcement of Governor O'Malley's intention to fully fund the Thornton calculations for K-12 education during the next two years.  Why does this matter to higher education, you ask?

What's not said is what is important in this article.  In funding K-12 education above the originally proposed levels, the Governor will surely have the funds to fully support his proposed dollars in the operating budget for the USM.  The Governor has relied upon funding from the federal government to support his operating budget.

So, the tuition freeze is becoming more and more likely each day.  The announcement of full-funding of K-12 this year is a sign that funding should arrive for higher education to support a funded tuition freeze.

President Caret in the spotlight

The Sun ran a piece  today on Towson University President Bob Caret.  It highlights his aggressive approach to growth at Towson, that has expanded the campus by 6,000 students during his tenure.  Take a moment to check out this nice article.

Tuition Freeze: Keeping it in Perspective

I have long been a supporter of funded tuition freezes.  As with any meaningful policy, students range in perspective on the issue of tuition freezes.  Hard-line affordability advocates have long cried that colleges waste student tuition dollars on frivolous expenditures, and that holding the line on revenues would force universities to cut the fat.  Other students have criticized tuition freezes as "political" policy, at the expense of educational quality.  In other words, politicians sacrifice the quality of education for students in exchange for votes.

The sound bite of "tuition freeze" does not do justice to the full policy.  It describes the tuition revenues with out the accompanying state revenues.  Some tuition freezes are really tuition subsidies, in which the state covers the bill for increased tuition for in-state, undergraduate students.  Others are true caps on tuition without state subsidy support, decreasing the real revenue for the university (adjusted for inflation).  So,a funded tuition freeze is like an across-the-board scholarship for students from the state.  An unfunded tuition freeze is like the BGE cap on electricity rates.  The result in the latter scenario is large increases when the cap comes off.

In Maryland, we have experienced three tuition freezes and are expecting a fourth.  The first, under the Ehrlich  Administration, is characterized as an "unfunded" tuition freeze.  The latter two and proposed fourth, under the O'Malley Administration, are considered funded tuition freezes.  I support funded tuition freezes, and don't support unfunded freezes.  In response to critics who describe the waste in higher education, I highlight the Effectiveness and Efficiency Initiative , which has derived cost savings for the USM of 1 to 2 % of the budget.  The tuition subsidy proposed in the FY2010 budget amounts to $16.9 million.  The USM Board of Regents has established an arrangement with the Governor that he must "buy" tuition freezes up and above the proposed operating budget allocations.

I had the opportunity to talk with a reporter from The State News, the Michigan State University independent newspaper regarding the tuition freeze policy in Maryland.  I described the policy in Maryland, and also cautioned about the possible negative impacts of suffering quality that can derive from artificial revenue caps.  Check out the article  to see for yourself.

I am often found defending the policy under its current merits, and rarely explain the caveats of which I include in my position.  I support funded tuition freezes, but only if not at the cost of decreasing quality.

The Sun: More Maryland families choosing USM institutions

The Sun highlighted today in an article a trend of more Maryland high school students choosing to attend public institutions in Maryland.  

The article highlights that admission applications are up at USM schools.  While this is great for our schools and for Marylanders, the consequence is that students who likely would have been admitted to USM institutions previously many not be admitted now.  As the demand increases, the supply cannot respond as quickly.

Testimony on House Bill 85

I testified on Tuesday as part of a panel of USM student leaders expressing support with amendments to House Bill 85.  The USM Student Council voted unanimously (10-0) at its 2/9 meeting to only support the bill with substantial amendments. Panel members included:

• Bill Logan, Towson undergraduate, Chair of USM Student Council
  
• Brady Walker, University of Baltimore law, Vice Chair of USM Student Council
  
• Sarah Elfreth, Towson undergraduate, Towson SGA and 2009-2010 USM Student Regent
  
• Roberto Munster, UMCP graduate, UMCP Graduate Student Government and USM Student Council member
  

Our testimony highlighted a number of additions and concerns, addressing concerns of costly administrative burdens, publication of unconfirmed information, limitations on academic freedom, an possible unintended consequences.  We submitted an amended version for review (email me at joshmichael@umbc.edu for a full tracked-changes version).

House members were receptive to comments, and Delegate Craig Rice is willing to carve up the bill to avoid the explained unintended consequences.

The Diamondback covered the event, highlighting the potential increased costs for students, resulting from the proscriptive language.  An editorial  was also published today.

USM Passes Policy on Textbook Affordability Measures

The USM Board of Regents unanimously supported the Policy on textbook Affordability Measures yesterday at a meeting at Towson University.  The policy is excepted to cut textbook costs for students by 20-30%.  

The Sun  the Policy and also wrote anin support of the action.

Coverage on the development:

The Sun (covered /  editorial )

Washington Post

The Capital

The Diamondback

Board of Regents set to approve Textbook Policy

The Board of Regents will consider the proposed "Policy on Textbook Affordability Measures" at tomorrow's full Board meeting at Towson University.  The effort stems from the Textbook Affordability Summit held on November 24th by the USM.  The policy includes a number of provisions, that when coupled with the federal law addressing textbooks, will significantly decrease the cost for students.  

The policy ensures that:

• students recieve ISBN numbers and other information regarding textbook selections well in advance of the beginning of the semester to ensure that students can shop competitively outside the bookstore
• deadlines for book finalization are set prior to the conclusion of classes in order to maximize the book buy-back process
• best practices for faculty regarding new editions of textbooks and bundling
• faculty can allow students to purchase older editions of an assigned book of the content is of relevant educational content
• bookstores stock both unbundled and bundled versions of materials
• students have the opportunity to review the use of course materails through final course evaluations
• faculty are educated of the policy each semester.

While legislation has been proposed by state legislators to address the problem, I question how provisions in this bill could negatively impact students.  The bill generally reiterates, in a number of places, positive provisions included in the federal textbook bill and the USM policy.  Yet, additional costs will likely rise for students as additional red-tape and regulation is inserted in the textbook adoption process, in the form of increased cost of books at the campus bookstore.  Additionally, limitations and unnecessary burdens on faculty could limit and frustrate the work and academic freedom of faculty.

The policy should pass the Board of Regents tomorrow, and should provide a comprehensive and workable policy to help lower the cost of textbooks.

USMSC Leadership Transition

The University System of Maryland Student Council (USMSC) met on Sunday at UMES.  One of the main agenda items was mid-year elections to replace David Walker from Bowie State, who resigned as Chair.

Bill Logan, a senior at Towson, was elected to serve as Chair for the remainder of the year.  He can be contacted at wlogan1@towson.edu.  In the remainder of the term, Bill hopes to ensure a successful transition to the new Council and also hopes to represent students within the USM and in Annapolis during the legislative session.

Stacking up the House and Senate Stimulus Package

Higher Ed Watch provides a thorough review  of the developments in the federal stimulus package.  Generally, the Senate version of the bill has significantly less funding for higher education.  The cut in state stabilization dollars could have a significant impact on higher education funding and the proposed tuition freeze.  Here is a chart stacking the two proposals side-by-side.

Submit your FAFSA!

FAFSA forms are due March 1--take care of it now so that you won't have financial problems down the line.  The FAFSA form is the federal financial aid form that helps the government determine your eligibiltiy for financial aid scholarships and loans.  the State government also uses the form in its analysis, as do other scholarship programs.

Go to www.fafsa.ed.gov to complete yours today.