A politician who keeps his promises? Hard as it is to believe, it appears as if we’ve spotted one: Gov. Martin O’Malley appears to be taking his generous campaign remarks on higher education seriously. His $30 billion spending plan submitted to the Maryland General assembly not only included budgeting for a tuition freeze, but delayed funding on other serious priorities to make this possible, including the Intercounty Connector.
Along with State Sen. Jim Rosapepe’s proposal to cap tuition hikes at 4 percent per year, it’s extremely uplifting to see our elected officials putting higher education at the top of their agenda. Despite the significance of these moves, however, the university cannot afford to be complacent on any level.
In fiscal year 2007, funding of four-year public institutions can be divided among three sources: 47 percent from tuition and fees, 38 percent from the state, and 15 percent from miscellaneous sources such as private contracts, grants and endowments. The move to cap tuition rate hikes, while clearly beneficial for students previously wracked by massive and unexpected increases, places a ceiling on the largest source of funding for these institutions.
If the cap is implemented, and Maryland’s fiscal situation worsens, as forecasts indicate, state officials would be unable to take from student wallets to offset inevitable decreases in state expenditures. The long-term answer is to find creative and responsible ways to stabilize the 53 percent of the budget that is uncapped and subject to the whims of the economy.
In the past, we have discussed proposals such as the adoption of slot machines as a partial dedicated funding source for the university, and still believe them to be a needed revenue source for a state desperately in search of one. We have also urged the university administration to focus large-scale efforts on private fundraising to wean our university off complete state dependency. The Great Expectations campaign is a step in the right direction, but so much more is needed.
Politics have been kind to higher education recently, but the university cannot afford to lie complacent. The tide will shift away, and when it does, the university better be prepared.
