Fearless Sifting

After several weeks of being quite busy and over a week of not having my computer (Thanks DoIT), I’m back.

Reading this recent news release got me thinking…

Business magazine Kiplinger’s Personal Finance ranked the University of Wisconsin-Madison No. 14 in a national ranking of the best values in American public universities.

Kiplinger.com analyzed records for about 120 universities, focusing on measures of academic quality, overall cost and financial aid availability. For example, the magazine looked at standardized admission test scores, student-faculty ratios and overall graduation rates to determine quality, while focusing on tuition, available need-based assistance and average debt after graduation to determine affordability.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was deemed the nation’s top value among publics. UW-Madison is the highest-ranked Big 10 campus, followed by Michigan (26th), Ohio State (27th) and Indiana (40th). UW-La Crosse (38th) and UW-Eau Claire (65th) also made the list.

UW-Madison ranked 14th in affordability for in-state students and 15th overall for non-resident students.

I think there is a growing consensus among UW administrators that tuition needs to be raised. Business School Dean Michael Knetter made comments saying exactly that in September and the current bargain of a UW-Madison education was his primary reason.

Knetter said there are two options for trying to solve the funding situation at UW: Raise taxes for residents or raise tuition for students.

Jacob Stamper, professor emeritus of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, said Knetter was trying to “brag” about the quality of programs UW offers, especially compared to how much other competing schools charge for tuition.

“[Knetter], I think, is looking at [tuition] like a corporate executive-type,” Stamper said, adding UW has the second-lowest tuition in the Big Ten, next to the University of Iowa.

“The popular perception in Wisconsin is [tuition] should be lower,” Stamper added. “In these hard times, when the Legislature does not want to give us any money, [tuition] is the place to get it.”

Biddy Martin has also not been shy about her desire to see tuition increase.

One of UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin’s top priorities is keeping the university affordable through need-based financial aid, she said Thursday in a speech at an event formally welcoming Martin to Wisconsin.Less important, she said, is an unrealistic goal of keeping tuition flat or decreasing it.

She said the university must raise more money for need-based aid and envisioned a sliding scale of college tuition.

“Those who can afford to pay more should pay more,” Martin said. “Those who can afford less should pay less; and those who cannot afford to pay anything should pay nothing in actual dollars but should be allowed to contribute to their own education through work study.”

The arguments for tuition increases are only going to get stronger as the troubled economy hinders the ability of the state to fund the UW System. Accessability and affordability are worthwhile goals, but should not at expense of the quality of the education. The UW needs to get money from somewhere and if the state isn’t going to provide it then some of it has to come from tuition.