PLATFORM : No More Free Rides For Students Who Can Pay

We are losing a great educational leader whose greatest legacy may have been in building the financial stability of a huge system at the very time the state’s finances are in trouble.

If the state’s resources are limited--and even if they were not--we should realize it is time to share the funding for our state universities more widely. We have lived with a tradition which offers generous subsidies to all students who attend public institutions, and we should request more of those who can afford to pay.

A friend, a successful leader in our business community, recently asked me why he should be able to send his son, a UC student, to one of the best universities in the world for almost nothing.

As we look at securing the future of higher education in our state, we cannot continue to subsidize so heavily the many sons and daughters who could afford to pay the actual cost, or the many out-of-state families who send their children here. Changing that part of our financing won’t diminish access, but it will protect quality, a goal which David Gardner worked very hard to achieve.

According to recent reports, more than 40% of all UC students come from families earning $60,000 a year or more. At the same time, lower-income students--many facing the basic UC tuition of $2,274 a year--are finding it harder to get the financial aid they need. As many schools continue to raise tuition rates, while at the same time holding back on financial aid, lower-income students are suffering two blows at once. The bottom line is that far too many people are not paying their fair share, and far too many able students are not having the opportunity to further their educations.

Our public universities were established so that all citizens, and our society as a whole, might enjoy the benefits of higher education.

Our current situation could be made more equitable for taxpayer and student alike if public universities would charge full tuition to those who can afford to pay and use public subsidies to support those with financial need.