In university circles, the June 10 ouster of University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan had her cohorts shaking in their boots.
Unable to balance a budget on dwindling resources, critics shouted,“Off with her head!”
Cooler heads soon prevailed. Sullivan was reinstated when UVA trustees admitted the prestigious school was being held hostage by state legislators who had slashed its funding.
The same scene is being played across the nation, every day.
States are reneging on their obligation to fund higher education, leaving public universities to either change their mission or scope, or both.
In Kansas, schools have little choice but to push much of the needed revenue onto students in addition to freezing salaries and slashing programs.
The Kansas Board of Regents approved tuition and fee increases to all its institutions of higher learning.
Incoming freshman to the University of Kansas will see a 4.9 percent increase in tuition and fees, bringing the cost of a typical semester to $4,839. That puts a four-year study plan at more than $38,000. Including room and board, the cost nearly doubles to $72,000.
K-State, Pittsburg and Emporia have been forced to raise their rates even higher percentage-wise. K-State is up by 5.1 percent, Pittsburg State by 6.4 percent and Emporia State by 6.5 percent.
Fort Hays State and Wichita State will exact more modest increases of 3.7 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.
Only 20 years ago, Kansas assumed 70 percent of a university’s expenses. Today, it’s about 38 percent.
During that same time, tuition has increased 62 percent.
Public education is no longer for the everyman.
THIS IS forcing all schools of higher education — from Allen Community College to Harvard — to transform the way they teach.
Goodbye, Mr. Chips.
Farewell to the well-worn tweed jackets; those stodgy professors who seemed to relish seeing the lights go on when a student grasped the thread.
Instead, say hello to Hal, the computer (“2001: A Space Odyssey”).
