From the RTD: Don’t subsidize out-of-state students: BY CHAP PETERSEN It’s that time of year, when school divisions set their annual budgets. It’s also a time when Virginia universities set their annual rates for tuition and student fees — and Virginia families adjust their budgets accordingly. Every year, with the inevitability of azaleas blooming, our state universities chide the General Assembly for its lack of financial support. That is somewhat deserved. The Assembly’s per-capita support for higher education has declined over a generation. But that’s driven by a larger student population entering the system, not by the Assembly “cutting” funding. The state taxpayer still plays a significant part in undergraduate education, funding nearly 40 percent of the academic cost for each student. And that doesn’t count the massive capital investment that the commonwealth maintains in the grounds and academic buildings. For that reason, the tuition at Virginia’s universities is still one-third the cost of a commensurate private education. So why doour universities annually increase their tuition beyond the pace of inflation? The answer may surprise you. Over the past few years, Virginia’s colleges and universities have competed to bring in the best students, not just from Virginia but from across the world. This competition manifests itself in reduced tuition deals that are offered to attract the very best students — and raise the university’s academic standing. A significant portion of tuition revenue is now re-allocated to this recruiting-driven assistance. And it is not always targeted at in-state students. Instead, this student aid now represents a wealth transfer from the state taxpayer (and ordinary students) to out-of-state students, who receive scholarships to attend our universities. In 2014, the University of Virginia spent $44 million of tuition funds on “AccessUVa,” which is its internal program for assisting students. Notably, $28 million of that assistance — or 64 percent — was allocated to out-of-state students, of which half was directed to families in the “middle” or “upper” income brackets. Interestingly, that amount ($14 million) almost exactly accounts for the revenue ($15 million) produced by the latest tuition increase in Charlottesville. We don’t need this financial carrot to bring in the top out-of-state students. More than 20,000 out-of-state applications flowed into the U.Va. last year for roughly 1,250 spots. We have enough candidates seeking to pay full price, without relying on the state taxpayer to ease this burden on their behalf. It’s a worthy goal to attract the best students. But it should occur through the university’s own merits. Using in-state tuition dollars to support out-of-state tuition discounts is not appropriate for a public university. Not even in Virginia. Chap Petersen, a Democrat, represents the 34th District, which includes the city of Fairfax and parts of Fairfax County, in the Virginia Senate. Contact him at [email protected]. timesdispatch/opinion/their-opinion/don-t-subsidize-out-of-state-students/article_1bfeb78d-79a5-5d48-9924-7aa69a20f9c7.html
Posted on: Sun, 01 Jun 2014 12:20:43 +0000
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