Higher education is the doorway to better jobs, higher pay, and financial independence. States have always played a key role in funding the higher-education of their citizens, usually financing the majority of the cost of attendance at most publicly-funded colleges and universities.
The Great Recession changed all of that. Higher-ed budgets nationwide were targeted as a way to help states fund critical operations. The pressures that recession, brought on by the short-sighted deregulation of Wall Street, forced lawmakers to make painful choices to balance their states’ budgets. Washington was no different.
And while some states have begun to restore some cuts, higher-ed funding still remains well below pre-recession levels. Which is why you’ve probably seen headlines lately about our state’s tuition increases. According to new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Washington has seen one of the sharpest increases in tuition costs in the nation.
While the trend this study illuminates is certainly one for pause (and opportunity), there are other more optimistic numbers to consider.
A soon to be released report by Washington Student Achievement Council shows that while tuition certainly has increased, Washington is not the most expensive (or even the second most expensive) place to get your college education, as the following chart details.
We can do better, of course, and we must find additional dollars for our higher ed system. One way, suggest some legislators, could be to close a few costly and ineffective tax-exemptions that benefit the most profitable sectors in our economy. However, that idea has yet to find traction with the Senate majority.