On the Side| Brad Hicks
There are times when I scratch my head, times when I laugh, and times I just can’t figure out what people were thinking.
Last week, in a quandary, I drew blood from my scalp while laughing. Hang with me for a little background – and while I check the figurative bandage.
The Iowa Board of Regents saw fit to issue a press release that said: “The Board of Regents, State of Iowa approved an amended proposal for tuition increases for the three Regent Institutions, effective for the fall 2016 semester. The proposal, which originally included a $300 increase in undergraduate resident tuition, was amended to include only a $250 increase. The motion passed unanimously.”
The press release also reported the following paragraphs:
• “From the time I spent in the legislature, I know adjustments sometimes need to be made,” said Regent Larry McKibben, who proposed the lower increase. “I’m pleased our leadership team and the presidents heard the comments from students. There is a lot of concern out there about the increase and also on how we maintain quality on education. I’m very pleased with our leadership team finding this compromise and I strongly support it.”
• “The good thing about multiple readings is that we get to have a variety of stakeholders weigh in,” said Bruce Rastetter, president of the Board of Regents. “As public universities, we are dependent on the economy of the state of Iowa.”
So, in short, the Iowa Board of Regents bragged in a press release that they saved students from Iowa $50 in tuition per semester, $100 a year for most students.
Hey, I’ve never been one to think having an extra $100 isn’t a good thing. But how about we lend some perspective.
In-state student undergraduate tuition at the state schools runs close to $8,000 per year. The universities figure room and board at about another $8,000 per year. Then throw in incidentals, such as books, extra materials, transportation, etc., plus a little fun, and the actual cost of attendance comes in closer to $20,000 a year.
So I have to wonder if Mr. McKibben wants to reframe his statement that basically brags about saving that $1 per $200 spent – you know, that 0.5 percent?
When Mr. Rastetter, a millionaire a few times over, notes the universities are dependent upon the state’s economy, does he not realize these kids, and their parents, are dependent on that economy for their personal finances, too? When the state hurts, it hurts because Iowans hurt.
Who thought that press release was a good idea? Perhaps the Regents figured there weren’t that many people who were educated enough to give it a thought. Perhaps they thought people would react thusly: “Hey, we saved 50 bucks! Thanks!”
I hope not.
The Iowa Legislature, and Govs. Branstad, Culver and Vilsack, all have failed our state’s college system over the years. They consciously transferred the costs of attendance to individuals and moved it away from taxpayers. While there are taxpayers who think that’s a great idea, it’s a shortsighted approach.
College student debt is astronomical. It is particularly bad in Iowa. This results in students graduating with a burden that prevents them from being vibrant economic contributors – they are paying hundreds of dollars a month in student loans, often for 10 to 20 years. New cars? New furniture? Buy a home? Right...
It also results in them leaving us, because Iowa is a low-wage state and the graduates can get more cash in other places. That, too, inhibits economic growth.
It might be more cynical than real, but I can’t help but think the state has set up an entire industry, whereby there is a tremendous financial transfer from people who don’t have any money – students who borrow – to fund the lives of people who instruct them, or support the cause to instruct them. In short, by approving increases in college costs well beyond the rate of inflation the past 30 years, Iowans have decided to fund university salaries on federal loans to be paid by students. This approach transfers money from one set of people to another, in hopes that the people who are “investing” are rewarded by some undetermined payoff later. Bernie Madoff went to prison for doing that.
Brad Hicks is the Editor/Publisher of the Red Oak Express. He can be contacted at publisher@redoakexpress.com.