Higher Ed Funding: How Much Really?
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Note: I'm a Regent for the University of Colorado three campus system.(the Regents are like the Board of Directors). CU is the largest higher education system in Colorado with an annual operating budget of about $2.1 billion. This post is a bit wonky, but was doing some research and needed to share. This is cross posted at Progress Now Action.)
Colorado's public colleges and universities are massively under funded. Colorado ranks 48th in the nation in support of higher education. Mississippi, that bastion of education devotees, spends more.
Business and political leaders are tossing out ideas to fix the anemic funding. Some concepts to date: using severance tax revenues from gas and mineral leases; selling the state lottery; and -- boldest of them all (and perhaps most difficult) -- changing the state Constitution. More ideas waiting to pass the political smell test are sure to come.
The question remains - how much do state colleges and universities really need?
Complaints about money -- we had more then, we have less now-- sound like whiny teenagers whose allowance has been docked, however legitimate the claim.
If you starve an athlete you expect diminishing returns on the playing field. What is it we expect when we starve higher ed -- better results?
-more below the fold-
Colorado's public higher education institutions share a mission - serve the state. Failure to properly support them affects how they serve us.
While looking at funding fixes, four areas need addressed:
• what are current and future needs for higher education;
• what happens if we continue under funding Colorado's colleges and universities;
• how do we align Colorado's needs from higher education with funding provided; and
• how does Colorado ensure higher education is worthy of the public trust?
What does Colorado need now and in 20-years from higher education?
No one is betting on a boom in low-skilled manufacturing jobs, taking advantage of our obscene high school dropout rates.
For Colorado to compete with China, India, or even Arizona, brain power is the name of the game. The more college-educated individuals, the better. That's today.
How does a 50-percent increase in student enrollment by 2027 grab you?
Assuming a modest 10-percent bump in demand from traditional 18-to-24-year old students, that's an extra 105,000 people looking to enroll full- or part-time in a public college or university by 2027.
The estimate doesn't even account for growth in demand of non-traditional students (over age 25) seeking a first, second or advanced degree.
Will Colorado have the capacity to educate them?
What will happen if Colorado's colleges and universities remain under funded?
At the University of Colorado's three campuses, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Denver and Health Sciences Center, we have no idea how many top-notch professors we might lose, how many top professors we can't attract, how many programs we can't sustain, how many new students we can't serve because of low state support.
It also prevents CU, and others, from fully reinvesting in cutting-edge research, academic programs and, through scholarships, people who can serve us for generations to come.
Loss of professors, key programs, research, and a diversity of students is a loss in quality. Colorado now has first-rate institutions. Do we want to lower that bar?
Economic development experts tell us that companies wanting to locate to Colorado see the lack of support for higher education as a deal breaker. That means fewer jobs and opportunities for people with and without a college degree. Opportunity cost indeed.
Some would argue to raise tuition to cover costs - basically privatizing higher education. That would price out more low- and middle-income individuals from attending college without crushing debt. Neither scenario best serves the interests of Colorado.
How to align resources with needs?
Looking at peer averages - how colleges' and universities' funding measures up against similar institutions nationwide -- can help. But it's a benchmark, not the entire story.
Some big questions remain:
• What percent of Coloradans need a college degree?
• What's a reasonable balance between tuition and state support? How will that split affect how many students will choose college?
• How much opportunity do we want to provide to individuals in financial need?
These are serious public policy issues that need to be addressed before funding formulas are fixed.
How to ensure Colorado's public colleges and universities are good stewards of the public trust, have the highest standards, and fulfill their mission?
No one requesting new funding gets a free pass.
As public stewards, colleges and universities must collaborate to deliver services where appropriate; develop deeper partnerships with businesses; form strategic partnerships with K-12; create transparent accounting systems, provide working adults with easy access to high-quality programs; and take seriously that students of color are critical to our future.
Then, Colorado's public colleges and universities will have to measure the success of their programs and share the results with the public, proving their success.
Additionally, Colorado cannot afford the hundreds of millions of dollars it would take to accommodate a 50-percent increase in student demand.
Colleges must give up the notion that to gain an education, students must prostrate themselves on the campus quad. Higher ed leaders must commit to offering a degree to those who never set foot on a traditional campus.
When debating how best to fund Colorado's public colleges and universities, having these questions in mind can help ensure we get the answer right the first time -- and don't find ourselves asking the same questions a decade from now.
Colorado's public colleges and universities are massively under funded. Colorado ranks 48th in the nation in support of higher education. Mississippi, that bastion of education devotees, spends more.
Business and political leaders are tossing out ideas to fix the anemic funding. Some concepts to date: using severance tax revenues from gas and mineral leases; selling the state lottery; and -- boldest of them all (and perhaps most difficult) -- changing the state Constitution. More ideas waiting to pass the political smell test are sure to come.
The question remains - how much do state colleges and universities really need?
Complaints about money -- we had more then, we have less now-- sound like whiny teenagers whose allowance has been docked, however legitimate the claim.
If you starve an athlete you expect diminishing returns on the playing field. What is it we expect when we starve higher ed -- better results?
-more below the fold-
Colorado's public higher education institutions share a mission - serve the state. Failure to properly support them affects how they serve us.
While looking at funding fixes, four areas need addressed:
• what are current and future needs for higher education;
• what happens if we continue under funding Colorado's colleges and universities;
• how do we align Colorado's needs from higher education with funding provided; and
• how does Colorado ensure higher education is worthy of the public trust?
What does Colorado need now and in 20-years from higher education?
No one is betting on a boom in low-skilled manufacturing jobs, taking advantage of our obscene high school dropout rates.
For Colorado to compete with China, India, or even Arizona, brain power is the name of the game. The more college-educated individuals, the better. That's today.
How does a 50-percent increase in student enrollment by 2027 grab you?
Assuming a modest 10-percent bump in demand from traditional 18-to-24-year old students, that's an extra 105,000 people looking to enroll full- or part-time in a public college or university by 2027.
The estimate doesn't even account for growth in demand of non-traditional students (over age 25) seeking a first, second or advanced degree.
Will Colorado have the capacity to educate them?
What will happen if Colorado's colleges and universities remain under funded?
At the University of Colorado's three campuses, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Denver and Health Sciences Center, we have no idea how many top-notch professors we might lose, how many top professors we can't attract, how many programs we can't sustain, how many new students we can't serve because of low state support.
It also prevents CU, and others, from fully reinvesting in cutting-edge research, academic programs and, through scholarships, people who can serve us for generations to come.
Loss of professors, key programs, research, and a diversity of students is a loss in quality. Colorado now has first-rate institutions. Do we want to lower that bar?
Economic development experts tell us that companies wanting to locate to Colorado see the lack of support for higher education as a deal breaker. That means fewer jobs and opportunities for people with and without a college degree. Opportunity cost indeed.
Some would argue to raise tuition to cover costs - basically privatizing higher education. That would price out more low- and middle-income individuals from attending college without crushing debt. Neither scenario best serves the interests of Colorado.
How to align resources with needs?
Looking at peer averages - how colleges' and universities' funding measures up against similar institutions nationwide -- can help. But it's a benchmark, not the entire story.
Some big questions remain:
• What percent of Coloradans need a college degree?
• What's a reasonable balance between tuition and state support? How will that split affect how many students will choose college?
• How much opportunity do we want to provide to individuals in financial need?
These are serious public policy issues that need to be addressed before funding formulas are fixed.
How to ensure Colorado's public colleges and universities are good stewards of the public trust, have the highest standards, and fulfill their mission?
No one requesting new funding gets a free pass.
As public stewards, colleges and universities must collaborate to deliver services where appropriate; develop deeper partnerships with businesses; form strategic partnerships with K-12; create transparent accounting systems, provide working adults with easy access to high-quality programs; and take seriously that students of color are critical to our future.
Then, Colorado's public colleges and universities will have to measure the success of their programs and share the results with the public, proving their success.
Additionally, Colorado cannot afford the hundreds of millions of dollars it would take to accommodate a 50-percent increase in student demand.
Colleges must give up the notion that to gain an education, students must prostrate themselves on the campus quad. Higher ed leaders must commit to offering a degree to those who never set foot on a traditional campus.
When debating how best to fund Colorado's public colleges and universities, having these questions in mind can help ensure we get the answer right the first time -- and don't find ourselves asking the same questions a decade from now.
This was cross posted at SquareState.net.