Skyrocketing tuition hurts class selection

by Julia Fieldbinder

Friday, November 18, 2005 00:00

With tuition costs constantly on the rise, many students worry that there's no end in sight. Various solutions to the ever-increasing cost of higher education have been proposed, but none seem viable.

State spending on higher education cannot in itself fix the problem, as deficits manipulate annual budgets and the money available is limited. Some universities are trying to reduce costs by laying off faculty and implementing pay freezes. Although these solutions are meant to help students by lowering costs, they raise questions regarding the quality of education.

With enrollment rates at their highest, more professors than ever are needed. If their workload increases and their salary does not, they're going to begin to look elsewhere for work. Professors at public universities already earn less than those at private schools, and professors here at UW earn less than many professors at other public universities. Other schools already know that UW-Madison faculty salaries have fallen to 7.3 percent behind the median salary of faculty at other public peer institutions. These institutions are aware of this and are pursuing faculty here, so if this becomes an issue, professors will simply leave.

With fewer professors available to teach, departments have fewer resources to offer students. In fall 2004, the University of Wisconsin offered 300 fewer courses and increased its class sizes. With enrollment rates up and fewer courses available, the option of graduating in four years becomes less feasible. Students may have to stay in school longer just to get the courses they need to earn their degree, which defeats the purpose of implementing these changes to begin with.

It is obvious that public schools are not exactly "public" anymore. Due to rising costs, higher education is not an option for everyone, yet there are more high school seniors pursuing a college education than ever before. Most know that an increase in demand leads to higher prices, so could a potential solution lie in the question of how to control this demand?

Is it possible that we have exceeded the level of college participation as a society? With high drop-out rates among first-year students and few students finishing in four years, it becomes questionable whether everyone is well prepared or dedicated to undertaking the rigorous curriculum encountered in the university environment. Would making admissions criteria stricter solve this enduring problem?

There may be no single solution to this problem, but upon examination it becomes clear that some changes need to be made — and soon — to ensure that the costs of higher education do not continue to spiral out of control.

Julia Fieldbinder (jfieldbinder@wisc.edu) is a senior majoring in communication arts.