Tightening Our Belts

The provision of a solid post-secondary education has become critical to the health of the American economy and the job prospects of young people all over the country. The costs of college attendance, however, have remained relatively high, and families everywhere are feeling the pinch. Significant tuition increases are anticipated at many schools, and financial aid programs may have trouble keeping up—especially at smaller private institutions. We are dismayed that this is the case; nevertheless, we believe that a pragmatic partnership of the public and private sectors has the potential to mitigate the effects of the current recession on college affordability.

At the institutional level, colleges and universities can take a number of steps to enhance affordability. Schools with merit-based financial aid or athletic scholarship programs should consider scaling these initiatives back in favor of need-based solutions, which would enhance accessibility. At public universities, only 44 percent of financial aid money goes to need-based programs; it is imperative that this share increase during a recession in order to make continued college attendance possible for families hit by the downturn.

In addition to refocusing their financial aid programs on accessibility and affordability, colleges and universities should also examine methods of reducing the cost of tuition. Creative methods of reducing overall expenditures at an institutional level should be embraced, and schools across the country should make it clear to their students’ families that their hard-earned dollars are not going to waste. For example, institutional expansion and athletic prowess should be deprioritized in relation to financial aid initiatives and other programs centered on affordability.

Beyond colleges themselves, policymakers also have an important role to play in making college affordable for all Americans. Some state governments have already taken encouraging steps. In Minnesota and Illinois, for example, parents can save thousands of dollars in tax-deferred investment accounts years before their children graduate from high school. Such plans not only ensure that families have a secure source of money for college tuition, but also help investing this money back into the strained American economy. Georgia high school students have already benefited from the HOPE scholarship, which covers the full cost of tuition at in-state public universities and gives generous grants to high-achieving students in private colleges. We applaud these states for their willingness to tackle this difficult issue, and we hope to see other states follow their example.

At the federal level, we must confess to a certain degree of disappointment. During both terms of George W. Bush’s presidency, he has done very little to make college more affordable for the average American family. And even on this historic Election Day, we see only one of the two major presidential candidates—Senator Barack Obama—making a definite commitment to enhance college affordability through a comprehensive and detailed education plan. The Obama-Biden ticket’s plan to streamline the federal financial aid application (FAFSA) is welcome news, but we are especially excited about Obama’s promise to give every American family a $4,000 tax credit to pay for the costs of tuition in exchange for a commitment to public service.

Expanding the promise of an affordable and accessible college education is no easy task; it is doubly difficult during a steep recession. It will require sacrifices from everyone involved: individual families, colleges, state governments, and Capitol Hill. But given what’s at stake—America’s place in the global economy and the vitality of our next generation—this is a battle well worth fighting.