With the 2003 state budget cuts and tuition hikes at UW-Madison, there has been a continuous debate about whether the state has made the correct decision to cut higher education funding.
Philip Trostel, professor of economics at the University of Maine, visited Madison Wednesday to discuss the long-term effects of declining state support for higher education. Trostel began his speech by posing the question, \Are states shooting themselves in the foot?""
Higher education provides numerous benefits for the state. For example, the money a college graduate pays in taxes over a lifetime is substantially more than the money the state allocated to support the higher education of that student.
Specifically, a Wisconsin student earns approximately $15,600 more per year with a four-year degree from a UW System school than a non-college grad. Within a working lifetime of 45 years, a college grad will pay approximately $49,250 more in taxes than a student who did not earn a degree, boosting Wisconsin's economy.
Allen Phelps, UW professor of education, said he agrees that higher education has benefits for a state.
""The more highly educated a workforce is in the state, the more they are going to command in the way of salary, which means the more they are going to pay in income tax and the more disposable income they will have to spend money on things in the state, and in return help the sales tax as well,"" he said.
Critics raise issues concerning state support for higher education. Some argue funding increases in higher education will not produce a comparable correlation. For example, a 10 percent increase in state support does not necessarily equal a 10 percent increase in graduates.
Another concern is that students with a state-financed education will move out of state, thus not benefiting the state through paying taxes.
However, Trostel refuted this, stating, ""Overall, there is only about a 20 percent loss of graduates from the state they earn their degree.""
The Legislature has also raised the idea of penalizing universities for large tuition hikes. W. Lee Hansen, UW professor emeritus of economics, said he does not believe this would be beneficial.
""If congress passed a law, for example, that would only allow a raise at UW of 5 percent, UW would be forced to cut costs ... having a major effect on the quality of what goes on at a university,"" he said.
Trostel said higher education both helps states financially and gives students the opportunity to expand their knowledge, get better jobs and increase the overall quality of the state as well as the individual.
""Return from higher education is larger than rising cost of education,"" Trostel said.
