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The optics have been poor for private universities.
The testimony of the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and Penn—before Congress to address the issue of anti-Semitism on their campuses—was not a good look.
Their collective response to the question: “Would calling for the genocide of Jews constitute a violation of the code of conduct at your school, yes or no?” …and their answer: “depending upon the content,” continues a perception of what is wrong in private higher education – elitism, smugness, and being so incredibly out of touch.
For as in your face as it was, that wasn’t even the year’s most significant higher ed story. It is the critical—and under-supported—public university system.
The big academic story of 2023 was the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to end using race as a criterion in college admissions. The ruling was based on two cases that made their way to the high court; one focused on Harvard University, and the other on the University of North Carolina.
WELL KNOWN GRADS
Most of the media attention and commentary centered on Harvard. Former president Barack Obama, who attended Harvard Law School, defended the university’s policies, allowing black students to prove that “we more than deserved a seat at the table.” Michelle Obama, who also attended Harvard Law School, wrote that her heart was breaking for “any young person out there who’s wondering what their future holds—and what kind of chances will be open to them.”
Reporting on an analysis of admissions data, the New York Times noted the many ways that Harvard continued to be a bastion of privilege whose admissions criteria “amounted to affirmative action for the children of the 1 percent.”
HELP US
The focus on Harvard was misplaced, however. If the issues at stake are opportunity and its role in a democratic polity, our focus should be supporting and strengthening the public university system.
Of the 14 million American students in four-year schools, about two-thirds are in public schools, where the ethnic and racial makeup is much closer to the overall undergraduate population than it is at private schools, as well as close to the U.S. population in general. In these schools, the largest obstacle to advancement is cost.
THE MONEY
The past decades have seen huge increases in costs at public institutions of higher education. Measured in constant dollars, in the 1963–1964 academic year, tuition, room and board at four-year public institutions was $8,491. By 2021–2022, that figure was $21,878—almost three times as high. Declining state support significantly contributes to rising fees—not just in “red” states.
For instance, at the University of California, San Diego, the share of revenues from state support declined from 32 percent in 2002 to 15 percent in 2020; similar patterns can be broadly found. According to the National Education Association, “Across the U.S., 32 states spent less on public colleges and universities in 2020 than in 2008, with an average decline of nearly $1,500 per student. As a result, students need to pay (and borrow) more.”
BIG PICTURE
In the wake of the COVID pandemic, some states have increased their support, but overall, funding for public colleges dropped 9.1 percent from 2008 to 2018. The net effects of decreased public funding are an increased burden on students and diminished educational opportunities, except for the wealthy.
Budget cuts don’t just lead to higher fees, which some students could address by working more hours in the dining hall or borrowing more money. Underfunding also results in fewer career options.
West Virginia University recently announced that it will no longer teach world languages and creative writing because of budget cuts, curtailing options for students hoping for careers in foreign service, immigration law, journalism, and many other fields.
Furthermore, underfunding leads state officials (and sometimes, in response, university administrators) to promote a narrow, vocationally oriented view of education, which further restricts students’ options.
DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY
In 1970, most jobs did not require a college degree. Today, nearly all well-paying ones do. That trend will likely accelerate with the rise of artificial intelligence and the continued outsourcing of low-skilled and de-skilled jobs overseas.
Those who care about equity of opportunity should pay less attention to the lucky few who get into Harvard or other highly selective private schools and more to public education because, for most Americans, the road to opportunity runs right through public schools.
This column is by Ritchie Lucas, Founder/CEO of the non-profit The Student Success Project. He can be reached by email at ritchie@studentsuccessproject.org and on Facebook as The Student Success Project.
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