There’s a new line of defense between students and tuition hikes. The question is how effective it will be.
This weekend, state legislators voted to make the Higher Education Investment Fund permanent and embedded a trust dedicated to stabilizing tuition in the fund. Universities will be able to draw money from the fund to prevent large jumps in tuition, but some officials said the legislation has weaknesses that will prevent it from making a significant difference.
“It’s a good thing, but it’s not a game-changer,” said state Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George’s).
While the bill sets the lofty goal of not allowing tuition to increase faster than the average family income, it contains no guarantees. And an effort by the University System of Maryland to exempt non-state-supported fees from the legislation was successful, leaving universities free to hike fees without interference.
University system lobbyist P.J. Hogan proposed the amendment exempting fees like the ones funding the Transportation Services and Dining Services departments, arguing universities needed to have the freedom to set them as they choose.
“Some fees pay for things that the state does not pay for, such as the student union, parking garages, dorms … fees need to be set at a rate to cover those costs,” he said. Another amendment backed by the university system allowing the Board of Regents to adjust their tuition rates to make them comparable to their peer institutions also passed.
Rosapepe opposed the amendments, arguing the difference between tuition and fees was meaningless to students.
“The issue about fees is that obviously from a student’s point of view the difference between tuition and fees is not great,” he said.
While the fund isn’t a cure-all, university advocates in Annapolis praised it as an important symbolic step that provides a small buffer protecting the university budget from the ups and downs of the state economy and budget. The fund was originally created three years ago and draws revenue from the state’s corporate income tax. Universities can tap the fund to cover budget holes or to pay for one-time improvements and projects.
But the fund was scheduled to dissolve this summer, and legislators waited until the last minute to pass it as part of the traditional rush to Sine Die — the end of the legislative session, which happened Monday. Dozens of bills are generally passed in the final few days, and the fund was among them. The General Assembly also approved the state’s capital budget, paving the way for construction of a new physical sciences complex.
Higher education lobbyists say the bill is a big step in the right direction.
“It is the first mandated source of funding for higher ed in the state,” said university lobbyist Ross Stern. “Down the road, we’ll be very happy to have this. Symbolically, I think it’s very important.”
Among the myriad of bills that didn’t pass this session was one mandating regular matchups between Towson and Morgan State and this university in football. Approval of the capital budget means construction on the new physical sciences complex, a $120 million project funded in part by federal dollars, could begin as early as this summer.
apino@umdbk.com
