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History Florida Can't Afford To Repeat

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By PATRICK M. CALLAN

Special to the Tribune

Published: January 3, 2009

When state budgets take a beating, college students and their families seem to be first to feel the pain.

Even in lean years, the public views spending on health, public safety and infrastructure as non-negotiable. And even in hard times, elected officials respect the clout of the K-12 education lobby. This leaves higher education as a vulnerable target for cost-cutting.

Predictably, that's the way Florida - along with just about every state - appears to be headed. The Legislature will meet next week to tackle a $2 billion budget hole, and cuts to higher education will certainly be on the table. Just as predictably, the governor has proposed a 15 percent tuition increase, and public university presidents are lining up to support him.

Although this has been the customary state-level response to fiscal crisis, it is not a recipe for success in today's world.

Times have changed. The reality is that many undergraduates scrape by, taking classes part time while living at home, holding down a job and struggling to pay the bills. In fact, in the past decade, college has become less affordable as family incomes and financial aid programs have failed to keep pace with tuition and other costs. Student loan borrowing has doubled in 10 years.

Postsecondary education has become a vital public resource, no less negotiable than access to elementary schools, clean water or paved roads. The nation's long-term prosperity hinges upon its ability to educate many more young people to higher levels than ever before. In Florida and across the country, employers already face shortages of well-trained graduates in areas such as the sciences and nursing; a high school diploma no longer guarantees anything close to a living wage; and 78 million Americans are approaching retirement age.

Unfortunately, states are faltering in their efforts to boost college access and success. New data from our group indicate that nationally, small gains in college preparation are being offset by declines in high school graduation. Gains in enrollment of young adults are being countered by declines in enrollment of older adults. Degree completion rates have improved slightly but are still poor. The burden of paying for college has grown significantly heavier for students and families. Significant inequities in college access and success by income and race/ethnicity persist.

For Florida, the data are particularly sobering. Enrollment rates for working adults, already low, have fallen since the early 1990s.

It is time to consider real policy change. States need to reward colleges for graduating students, not just enrolling them. States, the federal government, and colleges and universities need to simplify financial aid programs and refocus them on providing money to the students who need it. Colleges and universities need to provide opportunities rather than obstacles for working adults. Perhaps most importantly, we need to start talking about how we spend our higher education dollars, not just about how much we have or would like to have.

Even in hard times, Florida can do much more to ensure that its colleges and universities meet the needs of students, communities and local industries. But it will require state leaders to choose the difficult path of real reform, rather than giving campuses tacit consent to take the easy road yet again, raising tuition instead of rethinking priorities.

DIGITS

One-third

Percent of the state's young adults enrolled in college

44

Percent of young adults in college in best-performing states

25

Percent of family income needed to pay for expenses at a community college after financial aid; that has jumped from 18 percent in eight years.

Half

Undergraduate students receiving a bachelor's degree within six years in Florida

15

Percent tuition increase proposed by Gov. Charlie Crist

Patrick M. Callan is president of the nonprofit, nonpartisan National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

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