Living in Wisconsin I have been quite aware of the painful cuts to education. These cuts are not only impacting our local schools but our institutes of higher learning. Technical colleges across the state are reeling from cuts at a time of increased demand. The University of Wisconsin system has been pounded with cut after cut. Tuition is skyrocketing. For a student to attend the University of Wisconsin - Madison as an undergrad for one year it will now cost them just under $25,000 for tuition, fees, room and board. For any of the smaller campuses across the state like the University of Wisconsin - Stout, where I am enrolled, it will cost you $15,000 a year to attend as an undergrad for tuition, fees, room and board.
The costs of higher education are not rising because there are too many grants, scholarships or loans. Tuition is not rising because professors and staff are being paid too much. No, the reason tuition is going up at public schools is because Republican governors and legislators across the country are starving our public institutions of higher education.
One needs to look no further than Richard Vedder, the director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. His statements in a recent article in The Capital Times are shocking to me. He starts out by stating,
“I’m increasingly thinking the government should get out of the business of higher education.”
Really? So he wants to basically revoke the Morrill Land-Grant of 1862 whose purpose was to,
[W]ithout excluding other scientific and classical studies and including military tactic, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the States may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life.
The Land-grant colleges, like the University of Wisconsin - Madison, paved the way for a new middle class. No longer was college just for the wealthy. It was for everyone and it was funded in part with tax dollars. In 1904 Charles Van Hise spoke of the
"Wisconsin Idea"
The Wisconsin Idea holds that the boundaries of the university should be the boundaries of the state, and that the research conducted at [the university] should be applied to solve problems and improve health, quality of life, the environment, and agriculture for all citizens of the state.
That is the purpose of public education! To improve the lives of not only those who attend the university and receive a degree, but to also improve the lives of those within the state. Of course Vedder does not get it,
Vedder says he wouldn’t mind seeing public higher education disappear completely [...] “I do think we need to re-examine why the government is involved in the higher education business. They’re not involved in the automobile business. They’re not involved in the furniture business.
Vedder goes on to make some other outrageous statements about the state of public education, including a statement where he says, "we already have too many people with college degrees," which makes me doubt the veracity of his research abilities as an economist. The final statement he makes is the most telling as to where the Republican party wants to go with our education system:
Vedder believes elite private universities and highly regarded public flagship institutions such as the University of Wisconsin - Madison will likely thrive into the future because there will be no shortage of people willing to pay for the overall college experience and the ability to earn a degree with a name brand on the diploma.
But he suggests lesser-known liberal arts colleges and less highly regarded state universities face an uncertain future.
“The possibility of low-cost, Internet-based instruction by English-speaking, low-paid professors in, say, India, is real. It could impact the traditional education markets. Low-cost, online education based on open-source materials is coming. Wikipedia University will be here before you know it.”
Basically, those that have the money will get a first rate American education. Everyone else...well your education is going to be farmed out to the lowest bidder. This is NOT what I want for my child's future. I want him to be able to attend his hometown university. If not that then one of the other state schools where he will receive a quality education from dedicated professors like the ones I have in my graduate program. Privatization of our children's future is not the answer to any of our problems.
For disclosure purposes I did attend a "for profit" university for my Bachelor's degree. While the quality of the education was on par with what I would have received at a public institution the cost was far to high and I am saddled with student loan debt that I would not have had I attended a public institution.
