Affordability and access to higher education
Yesterday's blog was based on a March 15 column by _New York Times_ columnist Bob Herbert, in which he describes the dreadful job and life prospects of young black men, especially those who drop out without a high school diploma.
Herbert followed that column with another, on March 22, entitled "Stepping on the Dream", in which he points out that even if young people get high school diplomas and do well enough to be admitted to college, they may not be able to afford to go, or may accumulate so much debt that their future choices are severely constrained. The average debt of a college graduate is about $20,000, and the average debt of the average newly minted M.D. is probably in excess of $100,000.
Herbert writes "At the state level, per-pupil spending for higher education is at a 25-year low, even as government officials and corporate leaders keep pounding out the message that a college degree is the key to a successful future."
We see this here in Minnesota, where a "no new taxes" governor, backed by a like-minded legislature, imposed drastic budget cuts on higher education. This, piled on a long string of inadequate appropriations, has had the consequence that tuition at the University of Minnesota has gone up more than 110% in the past 10 years. This year we thought we had elected a different-minded legislature, but the reluctance to raise or redistribute taxes, even for obviously socially beneficial purposes, seems to be a nonpartisan mindset. Other states have similar attitudes.
Colleges and universities genuinely and justifiably view themselves as agents for good in society. They are very unhappy about having to raise tuition to cover the educational costs that the states are no longer willing to cover, but they have no choice if they are to maintain quality programs. They are particularly distressed at the difficulties this puts in the way of economically disadvantaged students, who may be so discouraged by the financial barriers that they choose not to pursue higher education, thereby depriving them of a good living and society of the contributions they would make.
We want to provide affordable access to high-quality higher education. We used to be able to do it, but society seems no longer willing to pay the cost even though it is clearly able to afford it. Without it, the engagement efforts of our higher education institutions, significant though they are, are handicapped because we cannot adequately carry out the core of our mission: to educate and inspire the young people of today to be the fully contributory citizens of tomorrow.