Texas Higher Education Tuition Caps
By Dr. Tony Magana
Texas families facing hard economic times and skyrocketing college tuition at state universities and colleges got some much needed help today from the Texas State Senate.
For some time the Texas legislature has been discussing the need to get a handle on tuition costs at the public universities of Texas. Since 2003 when the legislature relinquished the right to set tuition the regents of the various universities have had a free hand to increase tuition and fees as the state appropriations have been getting smaller.
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has reported progressive increases for college tuition, course fees, and mandatory fees since the Spring of 2004. From 2003 to 2009 the average increase for tuition was 69% with none lower than 47% and some approaching 120%. Meanwhile according to The Daily Texan over the same period of time the state now pays $300 less per student and students $1,500 more per student for a college education since tuition deregulation was enacted in 2003.
University and college officials have been concerned that giving back control of tuition hikes to the legislature would restrict college funding affecting the integrity of their institutions. They cited data showing that applications and quality of the students applying to the schools had no decreased. However, this missed one very important observation, that given the current economic downturn many students who may have previously chosen to attend a private university are now choosing to attend public university because their family situation cannot afford private tuition. Similarly, lower pay for entry level jobs following college graduation is making many students less willing to graduate from college with debts of over $100,000.
No doubt there are many academically qualified students who come from marginal family incomes for whom a tuition hike of a $2000 a year can make the difference of attending a college or not. The scarcity of private loan programs, lack of part-time work, and low entry level job pay immediately after college in addition to this raised tuition costs is not serving Texas well.
According to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board investment in higher education for the state is well worth the return. For every $1 dollar invested there is an $8.08 return.Their studies show that Texas lags behind every other state except Mississippi for the proportion of those aged 25 who have graduated from high school. Even more disparaging was that only 10.4% of Hispanics in Texas are completing a bachelor’s degree in college.
Today the Texas legislature has taken an important step in addressing this pressing problem. Senate Bill SB 1443 was sponsored primarily by Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) and had many co-sponsors including Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-Brownsville) and Juan “Choy” Hinojosa (D-McAllen) passed the Senate. This will limit tuition and fee hikes to no more than 5% a year for the major public universities of Texas.
The bill creates a relationship between the amount of appropriation granted by the legislature and tuition/fees paid by students. As quoted in the Houston Chronicle, the bill’s author Sen. Zaffirini says that although the school will be allowed to still raise tuition there will be “pressure” on the legislature to continue funding at appropriate levels.
The bills contains “contingencies and transition periods” for implementation and will initially only apply to schools which are above the average cost which include Texas A&M and the University of Texas. Over time the bill would cap tuition increases to the lessor of the Consumer Price Index or the rate of inflation.
This bill is not perfect but represents a major breakthrough. There will be adjustments to the bill in the state house before it goes to the governor. The Texas legislature was wrong to try to divest itself of the responsibility of meeting the needs of Texas’s public universities and colleges. The economic future of Texas demands a well-educated workforce. Ronald Reagan said he believed in limited government but that government must do well at those things it has do. The bi-partisan effort by Republicans such as Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) and Democrats Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) shows what a good government can be.
Thanks for reading Contempo Magazine blog which discusses issues for McAllen, the Rio Grande Valley, and America from a conservative Hispanic point of view. Tony Magaña grew up in McAllen Texas, attended Texas A&M University, served as an officer in Army Reserve, and holds a doctorate from Harvard University. The co-founder of Contempo Magazine has participated in Valley business for over 20 years. He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and also writes for the American Daily Review
