In recent years, colleges and universities in Ohio and across the country have borrowed billions of dollars to finance a spree of lavish building projects. Gov. John Kasich’s task force on college costs must work with the state’s public universities to rein in such spending and pass the savings on to students.
The cost of American higher education has risen by more than 20 percent since 2009, according to a recent report by the Ohio conference of the American Association of University Professors. That’s more than double the rate of inflation over the same period and greater than increases in the cost of food, rent, and health care.
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Students at many public universities in Ohio can expect to pay more than $20,000 a year for tuition and housing. Seven in 10 Ohio college students graduated with loan debt in 2013, with an average debt load of $30,000. Increases in tuition have slowed in recent years, but they still outpace inflation, and financial aid has not kept pace with tuition hikes.
Runaway college costs have alarmed students, parents, and consumer advocates for years, but their sources are no secret. Colleges have lost state aid while ramping up spending on facilities that are at best secondary to their missions as institutions of higher learning, forcing students to pick up the tab.
Spending on instruction at Ohio public universities has fallen in the past decade, while spending on athletic programs, recreational facilities, and central administration has skyrocketed, according to the AAUP report. The debt loads of the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University have nearly doubled in the past 10 years, the report says.
University officials say they must spend money on sports and upscale facilities to remain competitive and keep enrollment up. That’s no excuse for squandering public dollars on programs that don’t help students learn, and saddling students with tens of thousands of dollars of debt.
Governor Kasich’s task force on college costs should examine such spending, while being careful not to target academic programs such as tutoring.
Even if colleges cut some spending, tuition isn’t likely to plummet anytime soon. Debt-saddled students should be aware that they have options to reduce their burden and pay off their loans more quickly.
A federal policy gives most students the option to enroll in an income-based repayment plan, which caps monthly loan payments at a small percentage of borrowers’ income, and forgives any outstanding federal debt after 20 years (10 years for public employees). Borrowers who have already graduated can still enroll in the plan.
Students need more good policies such as these, paired with reductions in college spending, to make higher education more affordable. The issue offers a promising area for bipartisan compromise: Mr. Kasich and Republicans lawmakers have advocated cuts in college spending. Debt-relief programs, such as the governor’s proposal to forgive loans for students who take jobs in Ohio, can appeal to populist Democrats.
Lawmakers should pursue all of the above. A diversified approach that saves both students and taxpayers money will reap the most rewards.
First Published April 2, 2015, 4:00 a.m.