With tuition and fees at colleges across the country reaching unprecedented levels, higher education promises to be a central theme in the 2004 presidential election.
The cost of education at public universities rose 14 percent this year. Far from an aberration, the 2003-04 increase merely continued an ongoing trend. Over the last decade, tuition at public universities in Texas has climbed by more than 60 percent.
While costs are rising, what students are receiving in return may be on the decline. Professors' salaries at public schools are increasingly less competitive with professors at private universities, leading many to leave for greener pastures. Class sizes are ballooning and schools are turning to instructors, TAs and lesser-paid adjunct professors to teach courses. Many schools took a double hit when the stock market bubble burst in 2001: Economic weakness lowered their endowments' investment returns and statewide deficits lowered their annual appropriations.
The current administration, while emphasizing K-12 education reforms, has underfunded and shortchanged higher education. In 1980, the federal Pell Grant covered 77 percent of public college tuition and fees. Today, it covers only 40 percent. The White House froze the maximum Pell Grant award in its latest budget proposal. For three years in a row, the White House has frozen or cut the maximum grant. The budget would also cut the Perkins Loan program by nearly $100 million and provides no increase for the Federal Work Study program, despite greater college enrollment.
Eligibility revisions made by the Department of Education in 2003 would have eliminated Pell Grants for 84,000 students and reduced aid to thousands more. Fortunately, Congress reversed the changes before they took effect.
Exploding college expenses and steadily eroding federal assistance have left an affordability gap that Democratic presidential candidates hope to fill.
The Democratic candidates have vastly competing views, but generally agree on the main goal - helping to send more students to college. With a tuition hike this spring and another looming in the fall, the University of Texas and its students will be directly affected by the higher education debate.
Of the four main Democratic candidates remaining in the race, John Kerry offers the brightest hope and most thoughtful vision for improving college affordability. The highlight of Kerry's higher education agenda is his plan for national service. All Americans would be offered four years of college tuition in exchange for two years of national service. Individuals could serve in schools, community centers, nonprofits, as well as homeland security-related positions such as law enforcement and firefighting. Students who have already completed college could serve in exchange for student loan repayment.
Kerry has proposed a $4,000 College Opportunity Tax Credit for all four years of college. To help stem public university budget cuts by state legislatures, Kerry would create a $50 billion State Tax Relief and Education Fund. His agenda goes beyond spending programs and promotes reforms aimed at efficiency. For example, he will encourage colleges to band together to make bulk purchases of goods such as health care for employees. Other initiatives would increase opportunities for 11th-and-12th graders to attend college courses and ensure that Advanced Placement programs are available in all schools.
College affordability plans put forward by the other candidates are not as far-reaching as Kerry's but provide some creative and refreshing ideas to invigorate the dialogue on higher education.
In addition to one year of free public university tuition, John Edwards has proposed scrapping the federal student loan system that spends billions of dollars subsidizing banks and other lenders. He proposes a more direct lending approach. Edwards has challenged colleges and universities to end legacy admissions for family members. He also opposes binding early decision policies, claiming they favor wealthier applicants who do not need to wait and compare financial aid packages.
Wesley Clark's higher education agenda includes a universal $6,000 college grant for the first two years of college. Families with incomes below $100,000 would be eligible. However, he would partially pay for the new grant by cutting other higher education programs. Clark wants to streamline the application process and eliminate the 108-line form required for financial aid applicants.
Howard Dean has an extraordinarily ambitious plan for higher education that includes a $10,000 subsidy (grants and loans) during all four years of college. Students must commit to prepare for college at the end of middle school. High schools will work with each family and student to develop a plan of study. Dean proposes to pay for the program by repealing recent tax cuts, but with a Republican Congress, that appears unlikely.
Aimed at expanding opportunity, Democrats' college affordability initiatives are desperately needed. In today's knowledge-based economy, a college education is the key to the doors of a well-paid, rewarding career. Studies indicate that individuals with a college degree will earn about $1 million more than those without a degree over the course of their working life.
Unfortunately, the current Administration has turned its back on students and families struggling to pay for college. In November, it may pay a price.
McCormick is a first-year law student.
Be the first to comment on this article!