Slipping away

Despite a surge in returning students, more than two-thirds of Americans say access to a college education are slipping away, according to joint survey by Public Agenda and the
National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

Taking the economy and ballooning tuition rates into consideration, approximately 70 percent of responses in the “Squeeze Play 2010” survey suggest the “vast majority” of qualified people do not have the opportunity to earn a degree.

“Generally, this is not new,” said Amber Ott, a research manager with Public Agenda and co-author of the report. “People were concerned with rising tuition costs and students borrowing too much money.”

As of Fall 2009, the University of Cincinnati’s Main Campus had the third-most expensive “instructional cost” fees for Ohio institutions on the quarter system. Its out-of-state charge for students, however, ranked as most expensive of quarter-based institutions at $4,841, according to statistics from the Ohio Board of Regents.

Gov. Ted Strickland’s tuition freeze for public Ohio universities and colleges, which was instated in 2007, came to an end with the recommendation that universities keep any further tuition increases below 3.5 percent.

The UC Board of Trustees will vote on a 7 percent tuition increase in March.

“What our impression is, is tuition increases are keeping people out [of school],” said
Patrick Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. “There’s a lot of money going into financial aid, but tuition is going up faster. Most of that money is being eaten by tuition increases.”

Callan’s organization gave Ohio’s higher education’s affordability an F. Since 1982, though, college tuition and fees around the country have risen more than 400 percent — making it one of the highest rising costs of anything in the country. Comparably, medical care has risen 251 percent and the median family income 147 percent.

“It’s a vote of ‘no confidence’ in the administration of higher education,” Callan said. “You don’t see stores raising prices in the middle of an economic downturn.”

Although budget cuts are becoming more common for common for universities — UC is facing a cut of up to 15 percent — critics are still looking to higher education to innovate without jeopardizing a student-centric approach.

Institutions chasing dollars instead of student interest is another problematic mindset, said
Gary Rhoades, general secretary of the American Association of University Professors.

“So, we have this increasing class size, increasing enrollment and increasing tuition,” Rhoades said. “If I’m a student, it means I’m paying more for bigger classes and, in
some sense, less access to faculty.”

The national telephone survey, which took place between Dec. 9 and Dec. 13, 2009, recorded results from a random sample of 1,031 adults.