Texas Legislative Study Group Calls For Repeal Of Tuition Deregulation, Increasing Number Of Top Tier Universities
By Vince Leibowitz on Jun 1, 2008 in 81st Texas Legislature, Texas Education
Last week, the Texas Legislative Study Group released the first part of its recommendations for improving higher education in Texas. The LSG calls for repealing tuition deregulation, cutting and freezing tuition rates (and lowering costs by at least $500 per year), creating a new statewide scholarship system based on merit to help students and their parents afford higher education without being burdened by debt, and expanding and increasing the number of top-tier universities in Texas from two to at least six.
The recommendations from the LSG, a non-partisan group, represent the kind of bold thinking that Texas needs in order to truly reform higher education. It’s a clear departure from the higher education policy of the Perry-Dewhurst-Craddick administration, to be sure.
The report notes:
In 2003, for the first time in Texas history, the Texas Legislature abdicated its role as regulators of college tuition. Lawmakers made the choice to pass tuition deregulation in lieu of properly funding what should be a top priority of the state. This gave appointed, nonelected boards of regents unlimited power to raise tuition. The Legislature was able to shirk its responsibility for funding colleges by shifting more of the burden onto the shoulders of parents and students in the form of tuition costs.
“Abdicated,” and “shirk” are words that are apropos when it comes to describing what the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature has done with regard to its responsibility for higher education. Another way to put it, if you look forward to what the Lege did in 2007, is to say that the Legislature has continued to put property tax cuts and corporate welfare above the human needs of Texas’ young people.
I was also glad to see that the report called for the continuation of the Top 10 Percent Law. A lot of people don’t realize that the Top 10 Percent law doesn’t just help minorities. It also helps students in rural areas.
In addition to keeping the Top 10 Percent law, expanded scholarships are mentioned by the LSG:
Second, investment in state scholarships must increase to make up for the growing gap between state provided assistance and the cost of tuition. This would entail further funding of TEXAS Grants, expanding access to B-On-Time loans, and creating a separate and new fund for merit-based scholarships so that students do not have to graduate from college burdened with large debt.
The funding for merit-based scholarships will be a major battle for the Legislature if it remains in Republican hands. Republicans do not want to spend money on helping kids attend college–period.
Perhaps the most important recommendation, though (aside from tuition re-regulation), is the one having to do with creating more Tier-One universities in Texas:
Third, the state’s investment in university research programs must be expanded, creating more tier-one institutions of higher learning to compete with other states - this would ease crowding at Texas’ two flagship universities by increasing available slots of excellence for Texas students while bringing more industries and economic development to the state and creating jobs for Texans.
Building more schools up to Tier One status would be wonderful for Texas. For one thing, it would put Tier One universities in geographical reach of many parts of Texas. Second, more Tier One institutions would create more space for students who wish to attend such schools meaning Texas will have a better-educated work force which will, in the long run, a better economy.
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