With a budget void of $250 million, the University of Wisconsin System is just one of numerous university systems around the nation experiencing the ramifications of severe budget cuts and tuition increases.

As a recent study by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges found, more than 25 state colleges or university systems, one-third of the respondents, bumped tuition costs up between 10 and 20 percent; five raised dues by 20 percent or more, four by 25 percent or more and yet another four by 30 percent or more.

Such tuition increases have been a constant shadow over academia for several decades, with cyclical patterns of economic woes repeating themselves since 1981. This year, however, holds the harshest repercussions for several states, just by looking at the solid numbers.

With an overall education-budget reduction of 11 percent, California, which boasts the largest public university system in the nation, has been hit hard by the flat economy.

Such a reduction equates a 60 percent increase in tuition at the state’s community colleges and a 30 percent raise for California State and University of California colleges, which is expected to cause nearly 100,000 community-college students to drop out.

Clara Potes-Fellow, spokesperson for the California State University System, is worried such a sharp increase in community-college costs will deter students from what she considers an essential component of the education system.

“They are transition points for students,” Potes-Fellow said. “They are educational opportunities that are there for them at any point in there life. It’s a gift.”

The state will take drastic measures in the spring in an effort to keep such ramifications from snowballing. Enrollment growth will be slashed in half, denying admission to more than 23,000 applicants. Six of the 23 campuses will not accept freshmen or transfer students.

Despite predictions for continuing problems, Potes-Fellow is confident the California system will still offer students what she considers to be a top-notch education.

“We’re doing everything possible to maintain our quality of education. It’s not being compromised,” she said. “Cuts were applied that do not affect the integrity of the system.”

UW professor of higher education and education administration Clifton Conrad sees the effects of the crippled economy as more severe, however.

“It’s an invisible but relentless diminution of the quality of students, teaching and learning,” he said, noting that fewer course offerings, fewer opportunities for collaborative learning and faculty reductions are among the visible signs of the deteriorating support for higher education.

Conrad fears the direct effects on the academic world are not necessarily the most pressing and detrimental. In his opinion, the university system will place a strong emphasis on the private gain a college education can deliver. In doing so, the importance of tangible social benefits, such as acting as a responsible citizen and developing personal growth, will fall behind.

“Higher education is being viewed as a private good instead of a public good,” Conrad said.
With such possibilities becoming a potential reality, numerous colleges nationwide have taken matters into their own hands to ensure financial troubles do not plague their campuses.

In Illinois, for example, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich recently signed a “truth in tuition” bill. The law ensures that tuition will not increase during a student’s college tenure and will take effect in the 2004-5 academic year.

Indiana University has decided to keep tuition prices relatively level for returning students, but new students will pay 22.6 percent, nearly $1000 more.