Providing a quality education to as many people as possible is the greatest long-term economic investment that states and communities can make. Particularly during these tough economic times, as state governments and school districts deal with tighter budgets, that long-term investment becomes increasingly difficult to fund.
A national study released Wednesday serves as a reminder of the challenge the Wisconsin Legislature and UW System have of making the quality education state college students receive accessible to as many people as possible.
The independent, nonprofit National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education has released its states report card that measures categories such as affordability and degree completion. When it comes to affordability of higher education to the public, all but one state received a big, fat "F" in the study. That one state that got a passing grade wasn't Wisconsin, it was California, which received a "C," thanks to its relatively inexpensive community colleges.
Affordability, as measured in the study, is the based on how much of the average family's income it costs to go to college. The cost includes tuition, and room and board. It subtracts federal and state grants.
Wisconsin families use 30 percent of their income to pay for four-year public institutions, according to the study. The national average is 28 percent. Those are astounding percentages, and illustrate how college is becoming more out of reach financially for families as tuition prices rise and the economy struggles.
Higher education in Wisconsin is less affordable than it is in Illinois and Minnesota, according to the study. Wisconsin is ranked as more affordable than Michigan and Iowa.
There must be a state focus on making a college education more affordable for Wisconsin's working families. The temptation, and perhaps necessity, will be to cut secondary education funding in the next budget, which may present as much of a $5.4 billion gap that must be closed. When funding is cut, tuitions rise, making it more difficult for people to afford to go to college. Lawmakers and education officials must work together to find a way to halt the trend.
There was good news in the report for Wisconsin. The state received an "A-minus" in the category of completion - 58 percent of Wisconsin's full-time college students earn a bachelor's degree with six years, a high percentage nationally. The state earned a "B" in participation, providing sufficient opportunities to enroll in education and training beyond high school.
The higher educational opportunities Wisconsin provides clearly are above average. That's something to be proud of. But the average person's ability to access those educational opportunities is at risk, and that's something to work on.
A national study released Wednesday serves as a reminder of the challenge the Wisconsin Legislature and UW System have of making the quality education state college students receive accessible to as many people as possible.
The independent, nonprofit National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education has released its states report card that measures categories such as affordability and degree completion. When it comes to affordability of higher education to the public, all but one state received a big, fat "F" in the study. That one state that got a passing grade wasn't Wisconsin, it was California, which received a "C," thanks to its relatively inexpensive community colleges.
Affordability, as measured in the study, is the based on how much of the average family's income it costs to go to college. The cost includes tuition, and room and board. It subtracts federal and state grants.
Wisconsin families use 30 percent of their income to pay for four-year public institutions, according to the study. The national average is 28 percent. Those are astounding percentages, and illustrate how college is becoming more out of reach financially for families as tuition prices rise and the economy struggles.
Higher education in Wisconsin is less affordable than it is in Illinois and Minnesota, according to the study. Wisconsin is ranked as more affordable than Michigan and Iowa.
There must be a state focus on making a college education more affordable for Wisconsin's working families. The temptation, and perhaps necessity, will be to cut secondary education funding in the next budget, which may present as much of a $5.4 billion gap that must be closed. When funding is cut, tuitions rise, making it more difficult for people to afford to go to college. Lawmakers and education officials must work together to find a way to halt the trend.
There was good news in the report for Wisconsin. The state received an "A-minus" in the category of completion - 58 percent of Wisconsin's full-time college students earn a bachelor's degree with six years, a high percentage nationally. The state earned a "B" in participation, providing sufficient opportunities to enroll in education and training beyond high school.
The higher educational opportunities Wisconsin provides clearly are above average. That's something to be proud of. But the average person's ability to access those educational opportunities is at risk, and that's something to work on.
