Opinion - Top opinion

POSTED: Monday, Aug. 03, 2009

Tuition spikes prove it's time to reexamine higher ed funding

The monumental task confronting the 2009 Legislature was to produce a biennial budget that responded to the current fiscal crisis while minimizing the harm to people who depend on basic government services, including education.

Washington's system of public higher education played a significant role in the Legislature's solution. Deep cuts in state spending at colleges and universities were imposed, but institutions were authorized to partly offset those cuts by allowing institutions to raise tuition from seven to 14 percent each year of the biennium. By doing so, the Legislature tried to avoid lasting harm to higher education programs that many believe hold the key to our state's future economic prosperity.

Similar strategies have been employed in resolving past fiscal crises. But this time, some argue we have passed the point of no return, and are on a path toward increasing privatization of public higher education.

For the first time in history, four of six baccalaureate institutions will receive more operating revenue from tuition and fees in 2009-2011 than from state appropriations. An additional one will receive only 51 percent of operating revenue from the state.

In contrast, state support for baccalaureate institutions averaged 64 percent of operating costs in the previous biennium.

We need a serious discussion about the consequences of this trend, and a re-affirmation of the reasons higher education is a solid public investment.

I believe colleges and universities are dynamic change agents for our economy and the bedrock of our democratic system.

Broad and affordable access to public higher education enables societies to succeed in a world that grows ever more complex and integrated. States and countries that acknowledge these challenges and educate citizens to higher levels will have the edge.

Investments in education produce stronger and more resilient societies. They result in greater citizen involvement; enhanced innovation and creativity; lower incarceration rates; reduced demand for public assistance; and higher wage levels across all job sectors.

Such investments also help our state's economy thrive. Construction and infrastructure upgrades on college campuses will generate hundreds of millions in payrolls and goods purchases this biennium. Higher education also contributes millions to local economies through ongoing employee wages and student purchases.

The recession and budget cuts have come at a particularly challenging time. The state's 2008 Strategic Master Plan for Higher Education noted Washington is falling behind other states and countries in its efforts to educate more citizens to higher levels-a key requirement for successful competition in the global economy.

The master plan, which the Legislature adopted as state policy, calls for aggressive steps toward progress. A key goal is a 40 percent increase in annual degree attainment by 2018. We believe that goal is still attainable, despite the current budget realities.

However, we will need a new approach to ensure funding stability and accountability in public higher education. Also needed will be more targeted and strategic levels of state support, new tuition models, more aggressive use of learning technology, and continued financial aid.

Earlier this year, the Legislature directed the Higher Education Coordinating Board to take the first comprehensive look at the state's higher education delivery system in 30 years.

The System Design Plan will provide rational rules for system growth that will help the state make the wise investments needed to deliver higher education to the areas and populations that need it most.

Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines of this important discussion. We need advocates who can explain the importance of higher education to all the people of the state.

Ann Daley is executive director of the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board.