Voting your support for higher education
Higher education is a prominent topic this election season. There are a variety of proposals and positions to compare. For anyone reviewing what they hear from policymakers, one issue is at the root of most differences: how we share higher education costs among students, families, institutions and state and federal government.
Tuition and fees have gone up at all colleges and universities, but the amount of need-based aid from the state and federal government has gone down. Institutions, including the 17 members of the Minnesota Private College Council (MPCC), have shouldered an increasing share of costs in recent years, but their contributions have limits. Students and families — especially those in low- and middle-income brackets — feel the greatest pinch. The state can best provide relief by focusing on need-based aid through the State Grant Program. For students at Minnesota’s public and private colleges, the average State Grant fell 14 percent, in constant dollars, over the last five years (73,000 students currently receive this aid).
Consider a Minnesota family with an annual income of $60,000 and their son, Joe, in college. Under current State Grant Program guidelines, Joe would receive an estimated grant of just $1,700 to attend the University of Minnesota or an MPCC institution. By increasing the budget allocation to the State Grant Program, more aid would be available to help families like Joe's pay for college.
Our state has received national attention for its progressive public policy around access and affordability in higher education. It is up to Minnesotans to show their continued support for such policies. Need-based aid through the State Grant Program is the most efficient way to target limited state resources because it focuses on those who need them most: students in low- and middle-income families.
When evaluating candidates’ higher education platforms, it is important to look at their policies from many perspectives:
- How do they propose to distribute the costs and subsidies?
- Who benefits the most from their proposals?
- What are their positions on the value and importance of higher education?
- How do they view their office’s role and responsibility in supporting education and student achievement?
- What are their priorities for improving higher education?
Providing strong support for higher education is vital to our state’s future. Targeting relief to those who need it the most with need-based aid makes good policy sense. Look for MPCC policy recommendations for the 2007 Legislative Session in the November newsletter.