Budget crisis: California dreaming
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The news coming out of California is sobering.
Fifty years after California passed the “Master Plan for Higher Education,” promising free higher education to all in-state residents, a generation of students will witness the state’s public higher education system crumble around them. Costs borne by students and their families have exploded. Academic and student services have been cut, and thousands have been simply turned away as enrollments are slashed and the admissions process becomes more competitive.In the wake of these distressing and depressing conditions, a coalition led by students, faculty and staff has assembled in an attempt to actively resist. Holding on to no formal lever of power, the success of this unlikely alliance will be measured by the attention it brings to the rotten state of affairs in California’s higher education system. It is a system that has forsaken accessibility, crucified affordability and failed to demonstrate the long-term economic and social value of higher education; a system that continues to cling to dated ideas, refuses to innovate and sees itself losing its global competitive advantage.
California’s problems may, at first, seem irrelevant to us here in this state. Gov. Martin O’Malley has advocated for higher education. Tuition was frozen for four consecutive years and student financial assistance increased, the state’s first dedicated funding source for higher education was established and significant investments were made in community colleges. The reward for this unwavering support has been a consistent rise in rankings of public colleges and universities and national recognition for the achievements of faculty, students and administrators.
Even in the midst of a stark budget crisis, support from Annapolis has been strong. The projected tuition increase could be as little as 3 percent for in-state residents, and legislation to limit future increases and provide a permanent reserve fund for higher education will likely earn majority approval in the Maryland General Assembly.
But we cannot become complacent. Our successes are dangerously fragile and can be overturned at the ballot box in November. Former Gov. Robert Ehrlich will undoubtedly challenge O’Malley, and students should fear the prospect. Maryland Republicans, not be outdone by Ehrlich, released a budget plan that specifically cut higher education and eliminated 1,000 jobs in the University System of Maryland.
Student leadership has been disastrous. The inability of the Student Government Association to decide its position on O’Malley’s budget is embarrassing and a one-night photo opportunity in Annapolis will not correct the perception that student leaders are disconnected and ineffective. SGA President Steve Glickman may think the Higher Education Investment Fund is the snake oil solution to our higher education conundrum, but it represents only a small part of a comprehensive funding model that may cost the state more than $800 million if fully implemented.