Last year was a rough year for students at public universities, as state legislatures throughout the country continued to cut funding to their universities. Nationwide, states underwent one of the largest divestments in higher education in American history, slashing funding by 7.6 percent. And in 2011, for the second consecutive year, state and local funding to public universities reached a quarter-century low despite the fact that enrollment and the cost of educating students reached near-record highs.
State legislatures, to be sure, haven’t cut funding to higher education out of malice; the cuts are largely the result of decreased tax revenues following a severe and protracted recession. Nonetheless, the cuts remain devastating to higher education.
In a two-year period spanning between Biddy Martin and David Ward’s time as UW-Madison chancellors, legislators cut $316 million from the Wisconsin public university system. And while cuts to public universities have been draconian in many states, the cuts to the University of Wisconsin System have been particularly severe. Wisconsin’s spending on public universities dropped by 20.9 percent in 2012, according to the Center for the Study of Education Policy.
As state funding to the University of Wisconsin System has reached a low-point, students have been forced to pay more in tuition to close the gap in funding, pricing many students out of the market for a college education altogether. For students from wealthy families, the tuition increases that result from cuts are tough. For students from low-income families these tuition increases may mean that these students—whose best option for a quality, affordable college degree is the public university system—will not be able to afford to go to college at all.
The cost of attending Wisconsin’s flagship university is now roughly half the state’s median household income. And it requires two-thirds of the median household income in the state’s largest city, Milwaukee, for one year of school. In this respect, Wisconsin is not unique; the cost of attending flagship universities in states as diverse as Michigan, North Carolina and California is more than half of the states’ respective median household incomes. At public universities in California, tuition and fees have risen 72 percent since the 2007-’08 school year.
Crucially, federal stimulus dollars have helped offset a large share of the cuts in state aid to public universities. Moreover, as students have been forced to pay for a greater share of their education, the federal government has expanded its subsidized student loan programs, ensuring that students—especially those that come from low-income households—can afford to invest in a college education. The expansion of federally subsidized student loans is hardly ideal; in fact, it has fueled the burgeoning $1 trillion market of student debt while saddling America’s future workforce with massive amounts of debt. But the expansion is certainly preferable to the alternative, which is to leave those without the means to finance their education on their own.
Traditionally, Wisconsin has been one of the most committed states to education. During the recession, though, that commitment to education—as in other states—has waned, much to the chagrin of students.
Sadly, the effects of cuts aren’t limited to students. Cuts to higher education will likely accentuate income inequality and make poverty more pervasive.
Between 1993 and 2010, more than half of all inflation-adjusted income gains went to the top one percent of earners. And the one percent currently has more wealth than the bottom 90 percent. No matter how you slice it, America has a worsening income inequality problem. What’s more, 15.1 percent of Americans and almost one in four American children live in poverty today.
State legislatures have a moral obligation to invest in their public university systems, which provide quality, affordable college degrees. A degree can help individuals pull themselves out of poverty and help mitigate income inequality. But state legislatures don’t merely have a moral responsibility to invest in their public universities; they have a fiduciary one, too. Investment in higher education pays dividends in the form of less poverty, lower incarceration rates and even higher income tax revenues from more college-educated citizens working higher paying jobs.
The economic headwinds our country has faced in recent years has forced states to establish tough budget priorities, which has resulted in deep cuts to higher education. Unfortunately, these cuts have had, and will continue to have, unintended consequences. Thankfully, though, the economic crisis that once crippled state budgets has largely passed, and today states have reached a critical juncture at which they must invest in their public universities—the same universities they have, in recent years, badly neglected. In 2013, states across the country should resolve to make the smartest investment of all—in their public universities, and their students.
Mike is a sophomore studying political science. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
