April 15th / 17th, 2011
"Time for NC to Offer Free College Education"
235 years ago, patriot Thomas Paine published "Common Sense", a pamphlet
which railed against monarchies and rallied us to a revolution. He also
suggested other radical ideas such as a guaranteed minimum wage, and free
education for all. Paine was a corset maker by trade, so he knew the importance
of belt tightening. But he also knew that sometimes it is necessary to
expand and expend for the public good. And while lawmakers heeded his advice in
arming troops, they rejected his notions for arming future generations
with an affordable education.
And that brings us to another patriot named Thomas who, last week hinted
that North Carolina is headed in the wrong direction when it comes to
funding its public universities. These days, UNC system president Tom Ross is
none too happy with the eroding appropriations being allocated by the General
Assembly for so- called state supported colleges. For example, twenty years
ago the state kicked in 81% of the higher ed budget for its seventeen
campuses. But by 2010, that contribution had fallen to 64%. This trend has
caused college presidents to continually raise tuition rates, so much so that
over the past decade, tuition at North Carolina universities has risen by
175%.
Dr. Robert Wright, a professor at Ohio State University who studies these
matters, says that tuition increases nationwide have far outpaced
inflation. And the late David Broder reported that between 1982 and 2007, college
tuition and associated fees, rose three times as fast as the average annual
family income. In fact, today, the average cost of tuition, books, room,
board, and various fees is over $10,000 per year at public universities.
It is no wonder, then, that only 70% of high school graduates enroll in
college (source: UNESCO),and that many of those already enrolled, fear they
may have to leave school due to rising costs. Atul Bhula, a grad student at
Appalachian State University and representative to the ASU Board, told the
Associated Press, "I'm afraid of this General Assembly moving tuition from
a secondary source, to a primary source of revenue. The Assembly needs to
be reminded of its constitutional mandate". The mandate to which Bhula
refers is spelled out in the NC Constitution, which requires that the State
"provide affordable higher education". Of course, the key word is "affordable".
GOP Senator Phil Berger seems to think that the State already complies
with that mandate, telling the AP last week, "If you say that UNC Chapel Hill
is a peer with Michigan...Texas..and Virginia, then I don't see how you
can...say we don't have low tuition compared with the other schools. Students
must (bear) some of the expense...if you get an education, that gives you
career choices, so you should be able to incur some debt, and pay it back
down the road".
Berger's lack of compassion and perspective is astounding. First of all,
the recession has left a majority of college grads withOUT career choices.
Second, they are incurring more than just a little debt for the privilege
of an education. According to DistanceEducation.org, today's grads leave
college with an average debt of $20,000.
Berger, like many other republican lawmakers, fails to take the long view
or a world view of this growing problem. Many other nations provide a free
college education to their citizens. Those include: Sweden, Germany,
Australia, Brazil, Argentina, and Cuba. France and Ireland require only a minimal
registration fee.
Meanwhile, Denmark, Finland, and Norway take the perks a step further by
giving each student a monthly stipend.
Here in the United States, the five service academies offer a version of
free education, but graduates must repay the favor by signing up for a hitch
in the military. Only a handful of colleges are tuition free, and that's
because it is part of their core mission. They include Cooper Union, Berea
College, and Olin College.
Our other 5,750 colleges and universities still think that the only way to
offer higher education is with increasingly higher tuition.
Yes, budgets are tight, and state lawmakers are struggling to balance the
books without incurring massive layoffs. But money spent on higher educati
on now will only strengthen our economy later, and perhaps ensure that the
leaders of tomorrow won't get us into the kind of financial mess that the
leaders of today can't seem to get us out of. A free college education isn't
a revolutionary idea. It's just good "Common Sense".
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