Opinion |

The price of an education

New House bill threatens federal funds to colleges

By Anthony Laplume

Posted on Monday, October 27th, 2003, 12:00 am

Who are you and what are you doing here? That’s the kind of inquisition you’d face if you responded in the negative over someone asking your awareness of tuition increases. They’re inescapable. This year alone the University of Maine System increased its tuition by seven percent to cover a reduction in state funding that internal juggling couldn’t cover.

The House of Representatives is considering legislation that would penalize colleges and universities that annually increase tuition exponentially. If passed, the bill would hold such institutions accountable by 2008 through an index derived by inflation and the rate of tuition increase over three years. The cost of failure to clean up one’s act could be the withdrawal of federal funds such as loans and grants.

As you might imagine, those who already find it difficult to attend institutes of higher education because of the financial strain it would cause are most at risk, not the colleges and universities, which are resigned to whatever budget woes they have to handle. The poorest of potential students who depend on financial aid have little choice but to play along with this monetary tug-of-war.

All schools consider it a point of pride to expand their reach. Larger freshman classes translate to greater prestige, a rallying point to build on their programs and gain recognition on the national level. The cost is that the budget doesn’t grow as quickly as enrollment, especially during miserly years of economic stagnation. While more students pile in, belts are tightened as consolidation ends up curbing the growth the institution believed itself to be experiencing. The end result: these students will have to pay more.

The UMS rightly boasts that it has the lowest tuition around. The worth of this becomes less and less every time tuition nonetheless increases. It might be a necessary evil, but it isn’t an inevitable one. To keep students coming, the tuition can’t keep rising like this. That’s the general idea of the bill the House is now considering. Seven percent might not seem like a lot, but 900 journals cut from Fogler does, and that’s just another symptom.

The price of progress is always a steep one. To get anywhere today, you need a college diploma, but if you can’t afford to earn one, then you’re nowhere. I don’t think that society wants to tell anyone that some people just have to be left behind. Steps have to be made to ensure that this doesn’t happen. Like it or not, measures such as the one the House is now debating must be taken. Perfect or not, this bill is a step in the right direction.

Studies by the College Board and Census Bureau have shown that tuition across the nation has been raised 202 percent since 1981. This is a trend that simply cannot continue. Inflation has only gone up 80 percent in the same period, creating an unhealthy ratio. If there is any doubt that this is a problem that needs fixing, take it up with the kid who didn’t notice it in the first place. He ought to have something intelligent to say in reply.

Anthony Laplume is a senior English major.