Want to be Depressed? Let's See What's Happening to Higher Ed Funding

From The Atlantic, an article on higher education funding in all 50 states.  Very depressing with all this talk of "we need more trained workers."  As the costs soaring, the funding drops.   See Washington?  We're up towards the top.  And, the correlation is there between higher cuts to funding and rising costs. 

CPBB_Per_Student_Spending_Cuts.jpg

Comments

Anonymous said…
Yup. We're trying to make college decisions now. With the cuts in funding, state schools are no longer bargains—especially when many degrees now take 5 years to achieve due to availability of required classes in many majors. It is criminal IMHO.

Solvay Girl
Anonymous said…
"It is criminal IMHO."

I agree. I remember when, as a good student in the state, I took for granted that I'd be able to go to my state university, no matter what. Tuition was low enough that if I had to, I could have worked to pay for school; small merit scholarships actually made a difference; you could pull together housing somehow. I look at the tuition costs today and I fear for all the young people like me.
Anonymous said…
"It is criminal IMHO."

I agree. I remember when, as a good student in the state, I took for granted that I'd be able to go to my state university, no matter what. Tuition was low enough that if I had to, I could have worked to pay for school; small merit scholarships actually made a difference; you could pull together housing somehow. I look at the tuition costs today and I fear for all the young people like me.

Oops, that was me,

zb.
Anonymous said…
State schools still look like a comparative bargain to me. In state tuition in Washington is about $8000/year, compared to private colleges at $21,000 and up. It's lots of money either way, but we are still looking to go in-state and public. Living expenses are estimated at about $10,000 per school year on most of the sites I've seen! Does that seem super-high to anyone else?
John S said…
Washington in-state tuition is currently about $12,000 per year. That will probably go up. And living in Seattle for a year on $10,000 would be pretty tight no matter how you do it.
Anonymous said…
Tuition, fees, books, room & board, ec. at WSU and/or UW run close to $27,000. Classes and dorms are over-full; TAs and Grad Students do a lot of teaching, 5+ years is the norm for completion now just because students can't get all required classes within the 4-yr frame.

Many of the privates offer very good merit awards, bringing them much more inline with the public colleges. Plus, small class sizes, etc., and much lower student-to-teacher ratios make them more of an option.

Solvay Girl
Maureen said…
I would advise anyone looking at colleges to include a few privates on their list. We found that merit and need based aid made an out of state (very pricey) private a better deal than UW (especially since we weren't confident a kid can finish a degree at UW in four years.) If the student has absolute tip top stats and extra credits, there are schools that meet all need with no loans and consider upper middle class people (even above $100K) to be 'needy.' Even for a regular "Bright Well Rounded Kid" if their stats are in the top percentiles for the particular school, privates often drop their prices significantly to get a kid they want and who wants to be there. I wish there were more mid sized high quality privates in Washington. I think that lack is contributing to a brain drain out of the state for college.
Both Maureen and Solvay Girl give good tips. Private schools really can make it more affordable so they are worth looking into.

Many schools force students to stay on campus one to two years. UW has built (and is building)a number of new dorms.

I also agree with Maureen - it's either big (or huge)or very small schools. One good except is Western Washington U at about 16K students. My student was very happy there and so were we.
mirmac1 said…
This would be funny except that just yesterday the Seattle Time had a story about Brad Smith (of PPPE and Microsoft fame) and his ilk hobnobbing on Capitol Hill about the need for more more STEM graduates from our four-year colleges. I'll bet he voted against taxing his mega-bucks salary to pay for that.
Anonymous said…
Solvay Girl, you are right! I may have a heart attack. I've been reading the College Navigator page and somehow only looking in the 2009 column. What a bummer. Also, that page reveals UW in-state tuition went up 17% just this past year.

In 1988 I paid $600/year for public university. I believe my rented room was about $150/month and included food. Total cost around $2000/year.
Jet City mom said…
Lisa, Washington state actually has very reasonably priced public universities compared to states on the east coast/ California.
Two Wa schools make the Kiplinger best values list.

http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-public-colleges/index.php

Also be aware of the Western undergraduate exchange, where students can apply to neighboring states & possibly only pay 150% of instate tuition.
http://www.wiche.edu/wue
Maureen said…
Melissa is right, Western Washington U is a nice size. It's also a good distance from Seattle (convenient, but not too close!) and cheaper than UW. And they have rolling admissions, so a kid can apply early and have an admission in hand while they are waiting on other applications.
One thing to know about UW. It has consistently made US News&World report's list of "best value for public universities" because it was both cheap (relative to other states) and, of course, very high-caliber.

But time has taken its toll and UW had to raise their tuition. I'd have to go check but I think UW is still cheaper than many other states for in-state tuition but it's the such jump in price that's a shock to the system.

Meaning, its costs are now more in line than with other states.
dj said…
Even back in the 80s when I was applying for college (in CA, where public school tuitions were already on the rise), it was a wash, cost-wise, to go to my flagship state U versus the expensive private university I ended up attending, once you compared financial aid packages.
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