Massachusetts Gets an F in College Affordability
TUITION
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Katherine Geyer
Boston University News Service
September 14, 2006
WASHINGTON — Massachusetts received a failing grade for “College Affordability” but earned an A in every other category in a recent report on higher education.
The percentage of family income used to pay college expenses at Massachusetts’ public universities has increased to 34 percent, which forced undergraduates to borrow an average of $4,342 last year, according to the new report, released by the non-profit, non-partisan Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.
“The state has been falling further and further behind in their support,” said Sen. Edward Kennedy. “The state appropriations for higher education fell by 25 percent in 2005.”
Like Massachusetts, most states received a satisfactory grade in the other categories, but when it comes to affordability, Massachusetts is just one of many that received a failing grade. The highest-scoring states in this category were California and Utah, each receiving a C-.
The report, which graded each state on such categories as college preparation, participation and completion, stressed the value of an educated workforce and stated that the high percentage of Massachusetts residents with bachelor’s degrees has substantially strengthened the state’s economy.
“We have 75,000 jobs in Massachusetts looking for people when we have close to 200,000 people who are unemployed,” Mr. Kennedy said. “How are we going to develop the innovative industries of our time to be able to develop high-paying jobs with good benefits and maintain a world class economy that is second to none? Education is at its core.”
Mr. Kennedy believes that bringing competition to the student loan programs will help ease the financial burden. The current system is “working very, very well for the banks, but not for our students,” he said.
Mr. Kennedy blames the Bush administration for not increasing subsidies adequately. But Dan Lips, an education analyst for the conservative Heritage Foundation, argued that an increase in federal subsidies won’t necessarily help the problem.
He said that over the past decade, federal support for education has increased, but there need to be fundamental reforms in the education system for significant changes to occur.
“It’s clear tuition prices are out of control,” he said. “But we need to look at different solutions, such as increasing competition.”
Kaine Thompson, a spokeswoman for Worcester State College, said that tuition, set by the state, has not increased.
“Student fees, however, set by the Worcester State College Board of Trustees, have increased to maintain our educational quality.” She also stated that the number of students receiving financial aid has increased over the last five years.
Eileen O’Connor of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education agreed that for Massachusetts, the problem doesn’t lie with the tuition prices.
“Tuition has remained the same over the past few years,” she said. “It’s the mandatory fees at the individual schools that have gone up.” She believes this is because of a combination of factors, including rising costs and decreased state funding.
Azure Collier, a spokeswoman for Fitchburg State College, said 78 percent of the school’s students are receiving some sort of financial aid. The mandatory fees for the college have jumped from $3,216 for the 2003-2004 school year to $4,572 for 2006-2007. These fees are in addition to the $970 that full-time Massachusetts students pay annually for tuition.
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