Tuition Deregulation

In 2003, the Texas legislature deregulated tuition cost. Since then the cost has increased over 58 percent. This is a testament to the complete failure tuition deregulation turned out to be. It's time Texas re-regulates the cost of public university tuition.

Students are going deeper into debt while the economy is suffering at the hands of university bureaucrats. Meanwhile, it's reasonable to assume that high tuition at universities is part of the reason community colleges like ACC are experiencing a growth boom that stretches them to their limits.

This steady rise in community college attendance is creating new problems with congested traffic, parking, the need for new facilities, and increased demands on teachers. The pendulum of public comfort may now be swinging away from a fear of taxes and towards the need for affordable education.

Many community college students, struggling to make a living while taking classes, are understandably reluctant to take out the astronomically high loans needed to make the transition into a university. The risk of not being able to complete a course suddenly becomes much more costly.

Public universities argue that they cannot compete with other state universities if they cannot put limits on how many and who attend. Exclusivity is what distinguishes them from any other accredited school. However, when the limits lie predominantly in financial exclusion, there is a problem.

Competition is good, but forcing talented students out of their choice schools with ridiculously inflated tuition costs is unfair and should be stopped by the state legislature before more students suffer.

It is true that the population in Austin (and many other Texas cities) is growing. Thus, the universities might argue that there is a greater need for expansion and bringing in reputable faculty at a competitive pay rate. Such decisions, some would say, are best made by those deeply involved in the workings of the university. Obviously, this is not true. The universities had their chance to take control of their own tuition rate and they blew it.

Re-regulation creates a whole new set of problems for the universities, but they can handle it. Students deserve an opportunity to pursue a four-year degree without the unnecessary strain of unbearable costs and the burden and fear of paying off debt in the future.

Public universities ought to be forced to come up with better ways to finance themselves without gouging students. Public officials ought to make the major decisions concerning institutions that serve the public. The bottom line is that the legislature needs to do its job, and the universities should do the same.