A new, national survey shows more people than ever think colleges and universities could trim spending without sacrificing quality. The opinion trend could have ramifications for public funding of higher education.
The poll has been conducted since 1993. In that time, Pat Callan of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education says the results have shown a steadily growing dissatisfaction with the way colleges and universities are managed, and that they could do more with what resources they already have. The latest finds that six out of ten people say the schools are more concerned with bringing in money than enhancing students’ education.
Callan says those negative opinions have gained a strong majority at a critical time for public universities, which have seen state funding freeze or decline in the down economy.
“Governors and legislators have been quite passive in basically saying if you’ll take your cuts and be a good guy about it we’ll let you raise tuition and I think when elected officials see these kinds of poll results they’re likely to feel they need to be a little more proactive.”
There’s already movement in that direction in Tennessee. During the special session last month, the state legislature passed the governor’s proposal to tie higher ed funding to graduation rates. And Representative Beth Harwell added a measure requiring public colleges and universities set tuition before the state decides how much it will spend on higher education.
The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education is a non-partisan group based in California. Tennessee’s Economic and Community Development Commissioner, Matt Kisber, is a member of its board of directors.
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