College tuition on the rise - can we afford it?

With nothing but well wishes, we congratulated and celebrated Odessa’s 12 graduating seniors last week, all but one with confirmed college plans in place. There were many scholarships announced for excellence in academics, athletics and community service. However, the full tuition and other college or university-associated costs far exceed the amounts of those hard-earned and well-deserved scholarships.

Katie Schmidt, a reporter from The Olympian, tells us of another recent graduate, Gabriel Dum- brique from Lincoln High School in Tacoma. Gabriel took Advanced Placement classes, calculus, maintained a 3.8 GPA, and led the Key Club, a community service group.

This fall, Gabriel will be the first in his family to attend college. Counselor Colleen Philbrook said she had little doubt that he would receive a full-ride scholarship from Washington State University when he was accepted there this spring. But he didn’t. Instead of the full scholarship he had been hoping for, he received some grants and about $9,000 per year in loans that he will have to figure out how to pay back.

The coming year is expected to mark a record low in the proportion of funding that the state provides for higher education. Federal Pell Grants that students with financial need can use to pay for school are not going to increase this year, despite the rising cost of tuition. Rachelle Sharpe, director of state financial assistance for the Higher Education Coordinating Board said she had “seen applications for financial aid increase by about 57 percent over the last three years. The amount of need met through work study, grants and loans fell from 90 percent in the 2007-08 school year to 85 percent in 2009-10. About 22,000 state students who were eligible for the State Need Grant program did not receive it in the 2009-10 school year, because the program ran out of money.” The combination of a state budget crisis, a sluggish economy and high enrollment means many incoming college freshmen are realizing that it is not just a matter of working hard enough to get into a good state school anymore – it is about finding a way to pay for it.

Under a measure signed by Governor Chris Gregoire June 6, Washington’s six four-year colleges and universities will be able to set their own tuition, which had previously been done by the legislature.

According to an article by Phuong Le in The Olympian, tuition increases ranging from 11 to 16 percent were expected under the 2011-13 biennium budget passed in May. The new law gives the University of Washington, Western Washington University, Washington State University, Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University and Evergreen State College the ability to exceed those levels.

The transfer of authority to schools is meant to offset about $500 million in cuts to colleges and universities over the next two years. At the bill-signing ceremony at Cleveland High School in Seattle, Gregoire said, “It is the right thing to do. Without it we will lower the quality of education in Washington and we will close the door to students….Despite tough economic times, the legislature gives colleges and universities the resources and flexibility to stay competitive with other schools.”

Also on Monday, another measure was signed into law to help ease the burden of upcoming tuition hikes, which sets up the non-profit Washington Opportunity Scholarship program and endowment to help low- and middle-income students earn bachelor’s degrees in high-demand areas such as health care, manufacturing, science, math and technology.

At the ceremony on Monday, representatives from the Boeing Co. and Microsoft Corp. announced that in response to the $500 million in recent cuts to state support for public education, they would each pledge $25 million to the new program. The state will match private contributions dollar for dollar starting in 2014, not to exceed $50 million each year.

Brad Smith, general counsel and senior vice president at Microsoft said, “We’re here to create a fund that will support students today, as well as future generations of students.” Smith added, “The goal is to raise $1 billion by the end of this decade. Most of us in the business community recognize that we can only grow if there are talented individuals who can fill the jobs that we create, and the expansion of college opportunities here in Washington state plays a key role in doing precisely that.”

The Seattle Times reports that eligible students would receive $1,000, however, using the expected percentage increase in tuition for a university, the tuition would be $1,392 – annual in-state tuition over $10,000. The new scholarship wouldn’t be enough to cover the 2011-12 academic year increase, and if the university increases tuition by 16 percent for the 2012-2013 academic year as expected, with the scholarship it would mean a $1,600+ tuition increase for students.

The first scholarships would be available in December. Students with incomes of up to 125 percent of the state median income, which translates to approximately $101,000 per year for a family of four, would be eligible to apply.

First to announce an increase, the Washington State University’s Board of Regents approved a 16 percent tuition hike for the 2011-12 academic year. That would raise tuition to $9,374 for a typical in-state undergraduate. WSU said it plans to use $2 million raised from the tuition increase to provide more financial aid.

Eastern Washington University President, Rudolfo Arevalo asked his board of trustees to approve an 11 percent tuition increase, He also wants to cut as many as 10 degree programs to make up for state cuts.

Western Washington University approved a 16 percent tuition hike. Central Washington University approved a 14 percent tuition increase, as did Evergreen University.

The University of Washington is considering a 20 percent tuition increase. A final decision will be made when the board meets on June 30.

One idea being given serious consideration to help lower costs for students is the 3-year bachelor’s degree. The Olympian reported in April that 9 percent of Evergreen graduates follow this model to finish their degree programs in 3 years. It was made possible on a larger scale when Gov. Gregoire signed Substitute Senate Bill 5442 into law on April 18. State officials say the requirements for the accelerated program at state and private universities vary. Most often the programs require that the students attend summer school or amass college credits during high school years – generally by taking advanced placement courses or by attending programs such as Washington’s Running Start, which gives high school students a jump on college credits. The University of Washington has a program called The Husky Advantage that allows students to graduate in three years through careful course planning.

Under the new law, the state and regional universities may develop 3-year degree programs and submit them to the Higher Education Coordinating Board for approval. The program must be designed so students can achieve their goal of a bachelor’s degree without attending summer classes or enrolling in more than a full-time class load during the regular academic year. The law says that qualified students enrolled in the program must be allowed to begin coursework within their academic major field during their first term or semester of enrollment.

What remains to be seen is whether students will be attracted to the new program. It’s important to remember that college is more than just classes. Some students may prefer the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities to an intense 3-year focus on academics.

However, the students who do opt for the 3-year degree – and their parents – will likely find the 25 percent reduction in tuition from graduating a year early to be enough of an incentive to focus on their studies.

How do you feel about the budget cuts made in Olympia and their effect on our graduates?

Would you encourage your child to enroll in a 3-year degree program? If you had it to do over again, would you trade your college experience for a vigorous academic program that precluded extracurricular activities?

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