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I got an email from Ed Fallon on a subject that I have written about a few times (here, here, and here)... the rising cost of college education. Fallon writes...
The point is that Iowa’s college students are being nickled and dimed to death. With the surcharge, the average tuition and fees for a student at one of the three universities will be $6,079. Just six years ago, it was $3,155. The fact that tuition has nearly doubled while median income in Iowa has remained stagnant over the past six years makes it difficult for many young Iowans to pursue higher education. Our universities have been largely publicly funded since the state constitution was ratified in 1846. However, 2006 marks the first time in our history when student contributions through tuition and fees are greater than the percentage of public funding.
The other point is that these increases are a direct result of the Board of Regents and the Legislature valuing entrepreneurship over education.
It is critical to the future of our state universities that the Regents do not lose sight of their primary goals: education and research. It concerns me to think that some members of the Board of Regents and the Iowa Legislature would set those ideals aside to turn a profit for private enterprise.
Education is not about the creation of cogs in the corporate wheel. Our state universities are designed to be places of higher learning, intellectual stimulation and development of an informed populace to lead Iowa forward. Replacing those goals with job training, startup investment and private entrepreneurship will deny more young people access to the dream of a college degree while creating yet another conduit for the funneling of our tax dollars into the pockets of big business.
1 comment:
Unfortunately, it won't keep as many from pursuing higher education, which would cause a decline in enrollment and MAYBE get the regents to think about how to lower costs to get students back. No, students will still show up at school, but end with even higher debt loads than before.
College education is not a right, but public education should be more affordable than private. That's why we pay our taxes. But raising the tuition costs and thus causing more debt to be taken on is a detriment to our children's education.
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