Harris Advises Higher Tuition for Well-to-Do

Seymour E. Harris '20, professor of Economics, yesterday advocated general tuition increases and a Federal Scholarship Program to ease the financial plight of U.S. colleges and universities. Harris criticized as "illogical" the present situation under which he said, even a person whose father earns $15,000 or $20,000 a year only pays part of the total cost to a college of his education.

To prevent the higher fees from excluding good students who couldn't afford the increase, Harris advocated expanded financial aid programs. Harris's comments backed the idea for a $400 million Federal scholarship fund and other proposals made in a speech given in Chicago this week by Earl J. McGrath, president of the University of Kansas. McGrath had also noted that a 50 per cent increase in tuitions would bring $1 billion more per year to the nation's schools.

Students Underpay

"A great number of students could afford to pay the full cost of their education," Harris said. He criticized the fact that, on the average, a student at a private institutions pays only 68 percent of his expenses, and a students at a public institution, 30 percent.

Michigan, for example, charges only $100 a year and the government has to pay the rest regardless of a student's financial condition, he said.

Before the recent $200 College tuition rise, each Harvard student's education cost over $900 more than he paid.

As a possible complement to federal aid, Harris proposed a system of tuition reductions according to need. Any sliding scale would, however, require a great amount of intercollege cooperation and coordination, he observed.

"As college graduates usually earn substantially more than non-graduates, scholarship holders should also almost feel morally obligated to repay part of the money they were given for their education," Harris added.