Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
A new report released by The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education failed 49 of the 50 state university systems for affordability. The single passing institution, the University of California System, received a C-, and the University of Maine System was found to be one of the least affordable systems in the country.
The affordability of the states’ institutions is based on six indicators. Three of these focus on a family’s ability to pay; the other three focus on the amount of need-based aid offered to students by the state, system and university. Even though the tuition at UMS schools is just marginally more than most other states’, including California’s, the affordability of each system is dependent on the economy of each state.
The reason for the high price tag at UMS schools, relative to Maine’s median wage, is the number of campuses, according to UMS spokesperson John Diamond. This, Diamond said, is meant to increase the system’s accessibility to rural residents, but results in high infrastructure costs.
“In Maine, the trustees and legislature made a policy to make access a high priority,” Diamond said. Tuition hikes are used as a last resort, he said, although this has not stopped the system’s schools from raising tuition 35 out of the past 40 years.
Darcie Harvey, a policy analyst for the center, said the state’s number of universities is reflected in the participation score, and noted the high number of Maine high school graduates who go on to college.
She said, in terms of financial aid, “Maine is definitely behind the national trend.”
Harvey cited the percent of income required by the average Maine family to pay for a public university education in Maine – 36 percent – which is well behind the national average of 28 percent and far behind the highest state average of 15 percent. Working-class families in Maine have it even harder – they must devote 47 percent of their income to education at a public university. These statistics are found by looking at the total cost of attending a university after all need-based aid and comparing that cost to the income of the average family in that category.
The situation isn’t likely to get better any time soon. Because of the recent financial crisis, endowments of UMS and its schools have taken a hit, as have many short-term investments made by the university system.
Diamond said the universities invest students’ tuition money between the time the money is gathered and the time it is needed to pay professors. This strategy is often an easy way to make money, but because of the volatile market, the “investments” can end up going awry.
A spokesperson for Gov. John Baldacci released a statement to The Maine Campus, pledging his support for “enhancing Maine’s ability to compete in a global economy and creating opportunities for Maine families.” In response to a question regarding the average debt incurred by University of Maine students – a relatively high $22,000 – the governor stressed his efforts to make it easier for students to pay off their loans.
He touted a recently passed bill making interest paid on student loans tax deductible and mentioned “Opportunity Maine, which created a new tax credit for graduates of Maine colleges who choose to stay in Maine to work.”
Harvey said the report is not all-inclusive and does not take into account policies such as Maine’s tax credits. “It sounds like that’s a progressive program and certainly an interesting one,” said Harvey, but stressed that the report only takes into account direct cost.
Still, the amount of money allocated to the system by the state is dropping, Diamond said.
“Back in 2002, the amount of money received from the state . made up 57 percent of our budget for the entire University of Maine system,” Diamond said. Now, that number has dropped to 43 percent.
Bangor Daily News