Rudenstine Defends Need-Based Aid Before Commission

BOSTON--Harvard's prime weapon in its battle against the rising cost of higher education is need-based financial aid, President Neil L. Rudenstine said in his testimony Friday before the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education.

"Harvard's approach to college access has long been rooted in a simple insight," Rudenstine said. "Financial aid based on need is the most direct, effective, cost-effective and economically practicable way to reduce the net cost of college for many students."

Rudenstine barraged the commission, which met at Northeastern University, with numbers and statistics to prove Harvard's effectiveness in this area.

He told the panel that almost half of Harvard's undergraduates receive scholarship grants averaging $14,000. This same group also receives, on average, $6,500 from loans and jobs.

"In other words, for about half of our students, the average amount remaining to be paid on a current basis for a year at Harvard College is roughly $9,500," he said.

Rudenstine added that the University's goal has been to keep the parental contribution for students on scholarship constant. In 1980, it was 26 percent; today it remains unchanged.

The president of Northeastern University also spoke during the day-long session.

The 11-member panel was created this summer by Congress and is required to deliver a report by December 11 on two questions: why has the cost of higher education increased so dramatically in the past 20 years and what actions could Congress take to keep colleges and universities accessible to all Americans?

Officials cited some statistics to indicate the scope of the problem the commission is tackling: the cost of a college education has increased 235 percent since 1980 while the median family income and consumer price index have grown only 82 percent and 70 percent respectively.

Commission members responded positively to Rudenstine's remarks but added that his suggestions are some of the most politically challenging to implement.

"[Rudenstine] is a very thoughtful spokesperson for American higher education," said William E. Troutt, the commission's chair and president of Belmont University.

But Barry Munitz, the commission's vice chair and chancellor of California State University, added that convincing Congress of financial aid's effectiveness as a solution to the rising cost of higher education is "an up-hill battle."

This Congress's attitude is that the added earning potential of college educated individuals justifies their taking out loans--not Congress' spending tax-payers' money--to fund education, Munitz said.

Earlier this year, Rudenstine expressed grave concerns about the scope of the commission's task, but did not raise these issues in his testimony. Congress allotted the commission only 120 days to report--of which less than a month remains.

"Even for a scholar to make a report on that topic in 120 days is a pretty formidable task," Rudenstine said in an August interview.

In an interview after his testimony, Rudenstine said that it was his understanding that the commission was planning to deliver a preliminary report on December 11 and ask for an extension to provide a more in-depth analysis.

Troutt said, though, that the commission is committed to submitting its report on December 11, but will probably provide a more technical report 60 days later.

"It's a very ambitious task and we're aware of that," he said.

Rudenstine's other major point during his 45-minute remarks was to encourage the preservation of the educational breadth of American universities.

"If we were to let the study of Classics wither away, or the study of Sanskrit fade into oblivion, what would be next? Archaeology? The Renaissance? Buddhism? Or perhaps the Industrial Revolution, which in today's high-tech information age might strike some people as something close to ancient history?" Rudenstine asked.

Rudenstine cited East Asian Studies as an example of the importance of preserving what may at some points in history seem obscure subjects. Harvard was investing in these studies more than a century ago, though only a handful of students cared enough to concentrate in this area.

Today East Asian Studies is one of the most highly subscribed concentrations and one of most pressing areas of international concern, Rudenstine said.

Despite the financial concerns that were his focus, Rudenstine repeatedly underscored his belief in the fundamental excellence of American high education.

"By all accounts, our product and our perceived quality is not in trouble," he said.