Editorial 6/2/11

Third big tuition increase coming

The cost of a college education is skyrocketing. Tuition at colleges and universities has become more and more costly, rising much faster than the cost of living itself.

Locally, Washington State University could see tuition increases of 16 percent. This is coming after 14 percent increases in each of the last two years.

On top of this, direct state aid for students is drying up. Fewer students will be able to obtain student aid. Middle class families will be hardest hit. The money simply will be not there, except for the neediest low-income students.

The combination of rising tuition and reduced aid will take a college education out of the realm for many.

A college education was once limited to the privileged. Only the rich could afford to send their children to college. Over the years that changed. Public institutions, in particular, were opened to more and more students. It appears we may be going back to the time when college is again only for the lucky few.

That is not good. Cutting accessibility to higher education will have a lasting effect on the state and the nation, not to mention many young lives.

If there is ever an investment that needs to be made, it is in the education of the young. Even with the demands of shrinking budgets, state schools cannot price themselves out of the local market.

Accessibility is the starting point for an educated citizenry.

Gordon Forgey

Publisher