The president of Northeastern University, Joseph E. Aoun, wrote an opinion column Thursday for Inside Higher Ed lamenting the problems currently facing public higher education.
“[T]he crisis in the publics has the potential to undermine the high quality of American higher education as a whole. While state budget cuts may appear to be aimed at the publics, we will all be poorer if our renowned system is allowed to falter. As a result, everyone in the academy—even those of us in private institutions—should be thinking of ways to revitalize public higher education.”
The piece raises similar concerns as an article written for the Seattle Times late last year by the presidents of the 10 members of Independent Colleges of Washington.
“[W]e share the resolute belief that Washington must remain a leader in higher education, providing its public colleges and universities with funding adequate to sustain academic programs and also granting the neediest students, those who attend both public and private colleges and universities, sufficient financial aid to complete their studies successfully.”
A major part of Aoun’s solution is “progressive” tuition: free for students from families with incomes under a certain level—he suggests $100,000—and a sliding scale for those above.
Courtesy Gonzaga University/Hanne Zak
Interestingly, Washington’s Higher Education Coordinating Board this week issued a preliminary draft of proposed tuition policy for the state’s public baccalaureate institutions. The policy would essentially have the state pay at least 55 percent of the cost of educating undergraduates, with tuition and institutional revenue limited to no more than 45 percent. The HECB said the aim of the proposed policy is to “keep tuition moderate, ensure broad student access, and meet master plan goals for increased degree attainment,” but both the UW and Western Washington University criticized the proposal as being too inflexible and potentially harmful.
ICW was not invited to be part of that conversation. However we have written on numerous occasions that independent colleges are working examples of how the tuition sticker price can be higher, but robust financial aid can make education possible for those of modest means. Further, the state’s revenue picture continues to deteriorate and the legislature has long followed a fair-weather approach to funding the public institutions. Under those conditions and with limited revenue from tuition, it’s hard to imagine that educational quality and rigor can be maintained at enrollment levels adequate to make progress on the degree goals. (Despite increases of 14 percent this year and next, tuition at Washington state’s public institutions remains a bargain in comparison to that of many other states.)
We’d agree with Aoun that a more progressive tuition policy is in order.
