Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The Kansas Board of Regents announced in March it would freeze tuition at all of the six state universities for the 2009-2010 school year. As a caveat, Regents said the tuition freeze would only go into effect if state funding to higher education was cut by no more than 7 percent.
In May, the Kansas House of Representatives appropriations committee announced it would cut higher education by 12 percent.
In short, Regents made a promise they couldn’t keep. In increasingly difficult times, it makes little sense to rely on the generosity of the legislature, who is forced to make impossible decisions regarding the state’s financial priorities. Nevertheless, it seems as though Regents and the legislature should have worked more closely on the issue. This could have kept Regents from making an empty promise.
In a stagnant economy, where credit is drying up and part-time jobs are scare, many students may have trouble coping with another tuition increase. What’s worse is that many recent graduates are still looking for full-time employment against hiring freezes and national layoffs. This can make paying off student loans nearly impossible for some.
KU students should find the latest tuition hike hard to swallow. A recent audit showed the KU athletics department had $72 million in its account in June of last year. While the Athletics Department makes plans to build a new Olympic village, and continues to make improvements to its existing facilities, students will have to scramble for extra cash to finance their educations.
This is especially disheartening considering the $40 fee all students pay each semester to the athletics department for the funding of non-revenue sports.
In a time of economic crisis, it seems the University has not done enough to cut spending. Although many faculty and staff jobs remain unfilled, the University has had very few layoffs to speak of.
If students are asked to reach deeper into their pockets, the University should do everything in its power to cut expenditures wherever possible.
It’s clear that the University, Regents and the legislature should be doing more to avoid tuition hikes in these uncertain times. While they may be inevitable, they should be a last resort. Students are the ones struggling most, both before and after college. And they shouldn’t be asked to foot the bill for poor decisions.
— —Kevin Hardy for the Kansan Editorial Board
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