Crit Luallen: Tuition increases place higher education goals in jeopardy

Tuition increases place higher education goals in jeopardy
by Crit Luallen
Business Lexington

Tuition increases have placed in jeopardy Kentucky's ability to meet the 2020 postsecondary education goals of the historic Higher Education Reform Act of 1997. This was the key finding in a study recently released by the Kentucky State Auditor's Office. The report is a call to arms for anyone who wants to play a leadership role in Kentucky's future. And every citizen should play a role. During this key election year, Kentuckians must demand that those who wish to lead Kentucky develop and present strategies to reverse this troubling trend.

As in-state tuition has steadily increased, the full-time, undergraduate enrollment of Kentucky residents in the postsecondary education system has begun to decrease. Since the 2002 - 2003 school year, when general fund support decreased and tuition increases escalated, the average cost of tuition in Kentucky's four-year universities has increased by 66 percent, an average of 13.5 percent a year.

At the same time, a national study on affordability lowered Kentucky's grade from a "B" to an "F." That study also found that lower income households must expend 43 percent of their total income for a student enrolled in higher education.

Kentucky saw significant increases in enrollment after the 1997 reforms. But recently, as tuition has risen dramatically, full-time undergraduate resident enrollment at the four-year institutions has slowed and leveled off, increasing by only 92 students last year. When you combine the two- and four-year systems, Kentucky has actually lost 1,339 full-time Kentucky students since 2004.

Normally enrollment reports focus on the total headcount of the school or system. Our report focused on full-time students and includes a breakdown of each school and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. However, the data shows that part-time students have also declined in the four-year institutions. And the growth of part-time students has slowed in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.

This is happening at a time when the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education project says that between 2000 and 2020 Kentucky needs to add 389,000 new bachelor's degree holders to reach the national average. The council estimates that if Kentucky continues to perform at its current level, without further declines, the state will fall short of its 2020 goals by 211,000 bachelor's degree holders.

Our report also found that in the ten years since reform, Kentucky has been more successful in attracting non-resident students to Kentucky's eight four-year public universities than enrolling Kentuckians. While Kentucky resident enrollment increased by 10 percent, non-resident growth increased by 39 percent. In fact, 45 percent of the growth in full time undergraduate students since the 1997 reforms can be attributed to out-of-state students. Since the fall of 2003, Kentucky has attracted more non-resident full time students, 56 percent of the total new enrollees, than resident students. Low non-resident tuition rates may be contributing to this disparity.

Higher educational attainment for Kentucky's citizens is the single biggest challenge facing the commonwealth. By any measure, more Kentuckians must have postsecondary degrees if we are to attract the jobs of the 21st century and increase the quality of life for our residents.

This analysis points to the urgent need for a comprehensive review of the linkages between state appropriations, tuition policy and financial aid. Decisions affecting tuition occur at several different levels. All actions by the key players - the General Assembly, Executive Branch, Council for Postsecondary Education, the Universities and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System - are interrelated, and impact Kentuckians' ability to reach the educational attainment needed to move the state forward.

Certainly, administrators must continue to look for efficiencies within the postsecondary educational system. But it is vital that Kentucky's top policy makers provide adequate funding to ensure that tuition is set at a level that makes postsecondary education accessible to all residents.

The report recommends that tuition be reduced and that need-based financial aid be increased. We also recommend that non-resident tuition should be fair to state taxpayers. Additionally, we recommend that state budget decisions should take into account data quantifying the impact of those decisions on tuition and accessibility.

The issue of higher education has been a focal point of many studies and recommendations recently. The Council on Postsecondary Education says more out-of-state students are staying in Kentucky after graduation. That is a positive development. We should encourage non-Kentucky residents to come to college in our state - as long as it is not at the expense of Kentucky taxpayers.

I sent a copy of this report to every legislator, the governor and to each candidate for governor. The data calls for urgent and dramatic action. It simply must be a top priority of policy makers in Kentucky to make postsecondary education affordable for Kentuckians. Hopefully this report can make this critical problem, already at a crisis point, a top issue this year and in the next budget session.

Crit Luallen is Kentucky State Auditor.