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NOTE: Following is an op-ed from John Walda, president of the Trustees of Indiana University, and IU President Myles Brand, addressing the trustees' recent approval of a 4 percent tuition increase for the 1998-99 academic year. It is available for your use and can be e-mailed, if you prefer. A chart illustrating comparative state funding of the public institutions in the Big Ten Conference also is available. For more information, call DeAnna Hines, executive director of communications, 812-855-4343, djhines@indiana.edu For an e-mail version of the op-ed or a photocopy of the chart, call 812-855-3911.
Op-ed: For the Good of Our Students
By John Walda, President, Trustees of Indiana University
Myles Brand, President, Indiana University
Access to a top-quality university education is essential for all Hoosiers, and Indiana University recently made sure access is here to stay by keeping the 1998-99 undergraduate resident tuition rate at a level that's the lowest in a generation.
This marks the second consecutive year in which IU trustees held the increase to 4 percent, a figure that -- when it was first approved last year -- was the lowest hike in 21 years. When the fact that IU Bloomington's other mandatory fees have not increased this year is added to the equation, the effective total rise in tuition and fees is 3.5 percent at the Bloomington campus, even lower than last year's.
The number stayed low because the message stayed the same: IU is committed to remaining accessible to all qualified Hoosiers while offering one of the nation's best values in higher education. Moreover, our efforts to become more effective, efficient and accountable are producing internal cost savings that have helped to prevent big tuition jumps.
There is, of course, a better way through which IU can avoid tuition increases and that is to receive more support from the state. Although the Indiana Legislature has many competing interests for available revenues, comparative figures show that we are at the bottom of the heap in the Big Ten in state support.
In 1995-96, the most recent year for which figures are available, IU Bloomington came in No. 10 in student revenues, receiving a state appropriation of $5,235 for each full-time student. Compare that to the first-place institution, the University of Michigan, which received $8,643 per full-time student from the state.
Quite a difference. Yet Indiana University continues to offer a superb education and a degree so highly prized that students come from all over the world to study here.
The additional income from tuition will add substantial value to IU in several ways. First, it will allow the university to make important improvements in its science infrastructure. It is difficult, if not impossible, for us to give our students the expertise they need to succeed in a high-tech world if we can't provide the very best facilities, laboratories and scientific tools.
In addition, we can continue to provide the special services that some under-prepared students need to enable them to stay and succeed at IU, and we can better fulfill our mission of opening wide the doors of opportunity for all Hoosiers.
Doing so has never been more important than it is now. U.S. census figures show that a college graduate will earn, on average, over $1 million more than those with only a high school degree. And college graduates are half as likely to be unemployed as non-graduates.
All of these needs come at a time when it's important for us to meet market conditions for salaries so that we can attract the very best faculty. Why is that so crucial? Because outstanding faculty contribute greatly to the excellence of the institution and enhance the weight of an IU degree. And as any graduate can tell you, that is a significant advantage in a crowded and competitive job market.
Top-ranked faculty also carry on the research that leads to new knowledge and keeps our students at the forefront of new discoveries. This is not only critical to the educational mission of Indiana University, it also adds to a student's portfolio of experiences as he or she enters the global marketplace.
We fully understand and appreciate taxpayers' concerns about the cost of attending college. At Indiana University we are doing everything that we can to hold down our costs and operate the institution efficiently and effectively. But to do so at the expense of the top-quality educational opportunities that have become the norm at IU is unacceptable.
Our students and our state deserve the best.
What's on your mind? E-mail President Brand at pres@indiana.edu.