Our Views: Another cut for colleges

If there is any doubt that colleges were big losers in the last legislative session, look at the proposal advanced this week to raise tuition at community colleges and technical schools. An estimated 10 percent increase is planned — and these are supposed to be the accessible, lower-cost institutions.

The two-year schools are not alone in proposing tuition increases. The Board of Regents later this month is expected to decide on tuition-raising authority for four-year schools.

Sadly, the tuition increases aren’t really investments in quality. They are needed to raise money to replace the cuts in college funding by Gov. Bobby Jindal and legislators over the past five years.

During the session, there was legitimate concern that budget cuts caused by funding disputes among lawmakers and the administration would result in catastrophic cuts for colleges. That prospect was averted, and we supported Jindal in that dispute.

But the underlying reality is that the Jindal era has been bleak for Louisiana students with aspirations for a high-quality college education and the future that a respected degree can open up for their young lives.

Even with worst cuts averted, the Jindal budget cuts college support by $66 million in the fiscal year beginning July 1. It’s a serious blow masked in the discussion because of the threats of a larger disaster.

Great. So the train wreck was averted. We’re back to the slow-motion disaster instead.

The Board of Regents expects colleges to meet the performance standards, including improved graduation rates, that are part of the package needed for tuition increases this fall.

That’s part of the discussion that should take place, but the tuition increases — funding tax cuts pushed by Jindal and lawmakers — are expedients that are forced on institutions by a short-sighted state administration.

Comments

1) Comment by 8.3 - 19/06/2012

The sad thing is that we are willingly shooting ourselves in the foot. I understand China has quadrupled its investment in higher education while we apparently want to even the playing field. Maybe American students will have to go to China for a decent education in the future. .Whatever the US is doing doesn''t seem to be much about a concern for a viable future. Louisiana is a great example.(see above "a short-sighted state administration") Btw, how about that Globalstar and its $8 mil tax break? Guess the taxpayers will just have to eat more armadillo, doing less with less.

2) Comment by InPVille - 19/06/2012

It isn't just the Jindal Administration cutting education spending in the United States. It seems to be happening in the majority of states. In this and in recent years the following states are cutting K-12 education funding according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2220 a non-partisan to left leaning organization(depending on your point of view): Florida, California, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, Rhode Island, Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, and Virginia. Cuts have been proposed in the following states: Colorado, Idaho, Nebraska, New York, South Carolina, and Washington. The organization also claims that "At least 28 states have implemented cuts to public colleges and universities and/or large increases in college tuition to make up for insufficient state funding." There are both Republican AND Democrat controlled state governments finding it necessary to reduce education funding.

3) Comment by gvm - 18/06/2012

If anyone who voted for Jindal is crying crocodile tears now, I have these words for you: too bad! You got the Governor you deserved.

4) Comment by 8.3 - 18/06/2012

Keep up the good work!

5) Comment by 8.3 - 18/06/2012

Yup, concerns about the following are horribly "progressive" : LA contains the area with the Highest Level of Senior Citizens Living in Poverty. LA Most Violent state (20 years in a row as of 2012) Longest prison sentence by a Congressman – LA’s Bill Jefferson LA last in Camelot Index LA 1st in corruption convictions per capita LA 49th in student performance and progress LA has worst drivers LA least peaceful state LA 50TH in women’s health LA 49th in Health LA 1st in Murders per 100,000 population. LA 1st in Laziness. LA has least affordable auto insurance Governor Bobby Jindal one of most incompetent and unethical governors LA 2nd worst lawsuit climate LA gets an ‘F’ for Children’s Dental Health LA 1st in Happiness. LA 1st in deaths from diabetes. LA 1st in Personal Income drop. LA 1st in the number of forms of legalized gambling. LA 1st in rate of children under 5 on the brink of hunger. LA 2nd Most Dangerous State LA Worst State for Nursing Homes LA 1st in Homeless Children LA 1st in Percentage of Homeless Veterans. LA 52nd in population gain LA 2nd in bad auto loans LA 49th in Higher Education LA 2nd WORST state for businesses LA 49TH in Business competitiveness and retention LA 48TH in child well-being LA 1ST in gonorrhea rate LA has highest auto insurance rates in the nation LA 1st in the rate of corruption LA LAST in attracting college-educated workers LA 51st in child care LA 2nd in Black Homicides LA roads WORST in the nation. LA 49th in Savings LA 49TH in Longevity LA 50TH in per capita income LA 50TH in livability. LA 4th Highest Rate of Adult Obesity LA 1ST in wasting Medicare dollars LA 2ND in rate of men killing women LA 48TH in places to die LA 2ND in rate of healthcare uninsureds LA 49TH in social health LA 1ST in high school dropout rate LA public schools are 4TH worst LA 2ND cost of Homeowner’s Insurance LA 1ST in net population loss LA is ONLY southern state to lose population LA 1st in people moving out LA 1ST in Southeast in population exodus LA 1ST in rate of incarceration LA 1ST in number of child living in poverty LA 48TH in educational attainment of the population 25 years and over LA 1ST in number of women living in poverty LA LAST in bond ratings LA LAST in healthcare for seniors LA 1ST in abandoning public schools LA 2ND in DWI fatalities LA 46TH in Integrity LA is the 49TH “smartest state” LA WORST for healthcare for the elderly and disabled LA LAST in wealth of our citizens LA’s economy 49th out of 50 LA LAST in cash for research LA 1ST in teen use of steroids LA 1ST in the percentage of income used to pay rent LA 2ND in rate of poverty

6) Comment by 8point6 - 18/06/2012

"our views" has really got my "progressive" friends in a tizzy! Keep up the good work!

7) Comment by DMJ - 18/06/2012

Cuts in higher education aren't the byproduct; they're the product. They're not an unfortunate consequence; they're the realized goal. Same old Republican strategy- Cause budget crisis, blame crisis on public programs, cut public programs. If you vote for a Republican, you shouldn't be surprised when he defunds things like schools and hospitals. This is the very reason Republicans run for office. Have we all been asleep for the past 32 years??

8) Comment by Crawdaddy - 18/06/2012

Jindal's obvious method for reform in any arena is simply to choke the thing to death by financial attrition. Too many state workers -- cut pay (as in no merit increases) and benefits and positions. Higher education a bad value (he has often been quoted as stating such) -- average a $90 million cut every year over his 5 years in office with a cut every 6 months. And if any of his directors publicly disagree with his policies then cut them too. LSU has gone from looking at a nearly $20 million surplus (based on tuition increases) under Jindal's original submitted budget in March (he stated he was "protecting higher education") to a double-digit million dollar deficit in June. This is what happens when an initial budget is built on suppositions and contingencies in terms of revenue which, when they fail to materialize, require these constant cuts. At what point in terms of % state appropriations does a given university become private?

9) Comment by 8.3 - 18/06/2012

ByGeorge "many of our four year universities exist for reasons other than to educate students" yep for example football. Unfortunately, there is no coherent and rational plan to address the deficiencies you speak of (at least not a publicized one), only a whimsical economic ideological fanaticism which doesn't appear to be effective even in more wealthy states (California), much less the poorest one. Decimating public education, including higher ed and research universities, especially in Louisiana, the most historically chronic underachieving state, may not be a good strategy for attracting businesses (other than menial labor, just like third world countries which it seems we are intent upon emulating) , regardless of low or null taxes. Are we so blind, deaf and dumb?

10) Comment by ByGeorge - 18/06/2012

One word stood out to me when I read your editorial. The word was “respected” and it appeared in the sentence containing the phrase “the future that a respected degree can open up for their young lives”. 70% of Louisiana’s high school graduates will attend college within a year of high school. This is an astounding percentage and notably higher than the national average. Yet I ask you to please take a look at the recent listings of our many graduates from our too many four year universities and count with me the number of graduates earning “respected” degrees. Our totals may differ. What you respect I may not and vice versa. But can we agree that of our 200,000 enrolled public university students, only a relative handful have obtained "respected" degrees after four, five, or even six years? And yet we have this bottomless pit into which we keep tossing money. There are real and significant structural problems facing Louisiana’s higher educational system which no amount of funding can solve. It is a complicated issue intimately related to the problems facing our elementary and secondary schools. (Why we insist as a state in having two totally distinct and separate conversations regarding these problems is unclear to me.) Yet at its core the source of the problem is simple: many of our four year universities exist for reasons other than to educate students. Instead, they are - to use a term from the debate two years ago - "economic engines".

11) Comment by spqr - 18/06/2012

Piyush Jindal is simply the worst governor we've had in decades.

12) Comment by Scrooge - 18/06/2012

The voters have a death wish, they will do anything to punish the poor, including punishing themselves.

13) Comment by lovemykids - 18/06/2012

How true and sad for the state and a vast majority of its citizens.