NEW OP-ED: Californians Value Public Higher Education

On Nov. 8, 2017, Fox & Hounds published an op-ed from Dick Ackerman and Mel Levine, co-chairs of the California Coalition for Public Higher Education, titled, “Californians Value Public Higher Education.”  Here’s an excerpt:

A new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 56 percent of the state’s residents think that affordability is a big problem in California’s public colleges and universities.  Three-quarters of Californians think the price of college keeps qualified and motivated students from attending and 79 percent worry that students must borrow too much money to pay for their college education.

One major source of the college affordability problem is the State’s pull back from funding higher education.  Per pupil funding is down about 40% from where it was in 1977 for the University of California and by more than 20 percent for the California State University system. Much of the burden for the shortfall in State funding has been borne by students and their families in the form of sharply increased tuition and fees.

We all pay a price for failure to adequately invest in higher education.  PPIC estimates that California’s economy will require an additional 1.1 million college graduates by 2030, when almost 40 percent of jobs will require a college degree. California’s thriving economy is built on the innovations, creativity and productivity of an educated workforce.  Without enough college graduates, the state’s economy is bound to falter.

The op-ed concludes:

The erosion of State support for higher education took place over decades, but we do not have decades to accommodate the young California men and women who want and deserve a first-rate college education.  We don’t have decades to provide the educated workforce needed to maintain our economic vitality.  Piecemeal increases won’t do the trick.  We need a solid commitment for the State to do its share for higher education once again.

Read the complete op-ed on the Fox & Hounds website.