Substantial tuition hike not what the state needs
If Tennessee officials expect quality jobs to locate in this state, developing an educated workforce is a must.
One factor which makes the goal of an educated workforce easier to accomplish is by having affordable college courses. It’s one of the main reasons Tennesseans agreed to roll the dice and usher in a state lottery because it was agreed the lottery profits would be earmarked for education.
It’s also the reason we have to let out a slight gasp when hearing the Tennessee Board of Regents is considering a 14 percent tuition increase this fall. It’s an increase which would impact more than 180,000 Tennessee students. It’s also an increase which would cost students attending nearby Tennessee Tech and MTSU to pay almost $400 more a year.
But that’s not all. Students attending Motlow would pay $224 more a year, and the increase at the local technology center would be to the tune of $164 a year.
In all, the Board of Regents governs six universities, 13 two-year colleges and 26 technology centers.
Sure, those increases aren’t astronomical. Students who are determined to receive some form of post-secondary education will likely not be stopped by an extra $400 or an extra $164 a year.
But what about all those students who are borderline? What about the young adults who are thinking college might be a good thing, but could very well be persuaded by the price?
For those students, this rate increase hits at exactly the wrong time. The fight for quality jobs has never been more demanding and the financial jackpot that the lottery is expected to bring is still a year away from being distributed.
That leaves this year’s students between a rock and a tuition hike. And it leaves Tennessee colleges and universities with many difficult decisions.
In their defense, they didn’t have much to work with after state legislators voted to cut $57.3 million from higher education while protecting K-12 education. It’s certainly tough to argue with that decision, but it doesn’t make life easier for this year’s rising college freshmen.
And it doesn’t make life easier for Board of Regent schools which will be forced to lay off 121 employees and eliminate 340 unfilled jobs.
In fact, budget cuts have prompted East Tennessee State University to eliminate its Division I-AA football team after this coming season. Tennessee-Martin will cut women’s track.
But undeniably the most disturbing trend that’s developing is the cost of attending college in Tennessee. Tuition at most of Board of Regents schools increased by 7.5 percent last fall and by 15 percent the previous year.
If this current 14 percent hike is approved, it will translate into about a 35 percent increase in just three years.
If more Tennesseans are going to graduate from college, and better-paying jobs are going to locate in this state, skyrocketing tuition rates are not the way to do it.