That’s the title of an opinion column published in Monday’s Oregonian, written by Gary Andeen, our friend and colleague, the president and CEO of the Oregon Independent Colleges Association.
Andeen’s points echo our own:
With Oregon’s public colleges and universities facing an onrush of applications and reduced public funding, the state’s small private colleges offer students an often-affordable alternative — if only the state student aid program can provide the modest assistance needed to steer these students to the excellent programs and excess capacity of many of our private institutions.
It sounds like Oregon, too, is battling legislators’ knee-jerk tendency to favor students who attend public institutions, even though a low-income student who attends a private college actually costs them way less to educate.
It makes little sense that the Washington legislature is considering freezing State Need Grants for low-income Washington residents who attend state private colleges, while at the same time raising grant levels for all other students. It creates a financial incentive for students to attend a college that actually costs taxpayers more money.
Independent colleges are ready to take on additional students if financial aid policy continues to support students who make that choice. Don’t mess up, lawmakers. Continue to nurture the partnership.
