Taking the college private

lewleadbeater.com

notes from the edge

Home

Email Me

				THE
Column Archive				VIRGINIA GAZETTE
				WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA
Taking the college private				December 11, 2010

It’s time for the College of William and Mary and other state institutions of higher learning to seriously consider going private.

In a rather ominously predictive speech delivered on the occasion of a visit to Williamsburg of the State Council on Higher Education last July, President Taylor Reveley, while acknowledging the importance of SCHEV and the role of the state in higher education, essentially told his audience that it was time to be “realistic” about what the state could do financially for its budget-crunching colleges and universities.

Given its obligations to K12 education, transportation and other pressing budget busters, the state, said Reveley, will not in the future be able to support adequately the entire system of higher education.

Even now, W&M is getting only a measly 12% of its budget from the state, down from the 43% it was getting 30 years ago. And more cuts are apparently on the way.

While Reveley didn’t go so far as to say that the state should cut its institutions of higher learning loose, he strongly hinted that, once free from the stranglingly strict state regulations concerning the ratio of in-state to out-of-state students and other burdensome state requirements, the college could indeed develop its own resources through a combination of public aid and private philanthropy.

Most important, however, would be the advantages gained from allowing more out-of-state students to enroll at the college. They now pay a whopping $21,576 more in tuition than in-state students.

“The Board of Visitors,” concluded Reveley, “should have more flexibility to draw on the private sector and establish a viable percentage of out-of-state students. It could then raise the private revenues necessary to sustain itself.”

Well, not so fast, says Gov. Bob McDonnell.

In a recent statement about his goals for higher education in the state, McDonnell proposed a plan whereby 100,000 more college degrees would be earned by Virginia students.

While emphasizing the importance of boosting enrollments in community colleges, McDonnell also proposed raising the ratio of in-state students in four-year colleges and universities.

In addition, he promised to increase state aid to its institutions of higher learning.

As I see it, there are three major problems with the McDonnell plan.

First, where is additional money for state colleges coming from? The federal stimulus funds are a thing of the past, and the so-called “rainy day fund” has been totally rained out. In addition, the state has pilfered an unconscionable amount from the Virginia Retirement System and must begin to pay that back in the next budget. Furthermore, all predictions from the upcoming session of the state legislature indicate that even more cuts are in the works for K12 and higher education. Raising the debt ceiling even higher has already been anathematized by both parties.

Second, without a tremendous infusion of state funds, cutting back even further on the number of out-of-state students state universities are allowed to admit would be financially suicidal for W&M and other state institutions.

Even more fatal economically would be the imposition on our colleges of education mill type plans, like the trimester system, that have already been proved to be enormous financial and educational flops. Witness the disastrous results in the Florida state university system or at the University of Pittsburgh.

Finally, another area requiring serious research involves the overall academic effect on highly rated state institutions of admitting an overwhelming number of students from Virginia high schools. While the state has some excellent high school programs, is the overall educational experience of Virginia students equal to that of students from New Jersey or New England? From my own teaching experience, I would say not.

No, for all McDonnell’s posturing, the fact is that the state is broke. There will be no grand infusion of additional dollars for higher education.

It’s time to take Reveley’s advice and disengage our colleges from their entanglements with the state and allow them to raise on their own the money they need to sustain themselves.