রবিবার, ২৯ এপ্রিল, ২০১২

Our View: Idaho can?t afford to lose college students ? or time

The good news: For 2012-13, tuition at the state?s three universities will increase by ?only? 4.7 to 6.1 percent.

And when that?s the good news, you know there?s plenty of bad news.

- Tuition and fees at Idaho State University and the University of Idaho will exceed $6,000 for the first time. Boise State University hasn?t yet reached this dubious milestone, but with a price tag of $5,880, this is only a matter of time.

- The 2012-13 increases seem modest only when they?re compared to recent history. In the midst of a three-year recession, and a dramatic 26.4 percent cut in the state?s higher ed budget, the state expected cash-strapped students and parents to shoulder even more of the cost of college. It is indeed remarkable that, during this downturn, BSU managed to limit increases to 5 percent in 2009-10 and 2011-12 (although these sandwiched a 9 percent hike imposed in 2010-11).

- The ?modest? 2012-13 cost increases are just large enough to make college that much less affordable, dissuading students on the fence about postsecondary education.

As it is, fewer than half of the state?s high school grads attend college. In this category, Idaho ranks a troubling No. 47 nationally, according to the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems.

Cost is not the sole hurdle to a college education. But it is certainly a factor, one the state has done little to mitigate.

Idaho ranks No. 14 among 15 states in the region when it comes to awarding need-based scholarships, according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. Idaho awards a paltry $28 per year per full-time student ? not even enough to cover a new textbook.

Idaho?s political leaders can?t have it both ways. They cannot insist on shifting the cost of college to families without helping deserving families that need financial aid.

To their credit, Idaho school leaders are experimenting with a series of well-intended initiatives designed to pique students? interest in college ? programs that increase academic rigor, and, this year, state-funded college placement exams for high-school juniors.

But if a college education is unaffordable, these efforts will be in vain.

The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation has put $11 million into scholarships ? a generous and important step. But even the foundation?s executive director, Jamie MacMillan, gives the state?s scholarship efforts a tepid review. ?I would advocate that before we allocate more money to any scholarship programs, we get an idea of what is effective.?

Yes, let?s spend smartly.

But let?s move with a sense of urgency.

Our state can?t afford to lose promising students.

As college costs keep rising, our state can?t afford to lose time, either.

?Our View? is the editorial position of the Idaho Statesman. It is an unsigned opinion expressing the consensus of the Statesman?s editorial board.

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