The average debt levels for students at Williams, Amherst College, Wellesley, Harvard, and MIT range between $8,000 and $15,000. At UMass Amherst it is $23,614.  This article in the February 23, 2011 Boston Globe makes a forceful argument for keeping costs down at UMass.

(reprinted from Inside Higher Ed, Feb. 3, 2011)

More Americans who identify themselves as struggling economically are worried about the affordability of higher education than about any other financial stress, according to a report, “Struggling in America,” released Thursday by Public Agenda. The findings, based on interviews conducted with 1,004 adults Nov. 18-21, 2010, revealed that 77 percent of parents who were struggling economically said they were worried about paying for their children’s education, making it their most common personal financial worry. In contrast, 61 percent of the same group of respondents said they personally worried that they would not be able to afford to retire, while 45 percent feared being able to pay their mortgage or other debt. Coming in last was the fear of losing one’s job (32 percent).

By Tracy Jan
Globe Staff / September 9, 2010

Massachusetts higher education commissioner Richard Freeland criticized state legislators yesterday for continuing to cut funding for public universities and colleges amid increased student demand, saying that they have put the system of 29 schools in a compromised position.

The campuses — including 15 community colleges, nine state universities, and the five-campus University of Massachusetts system — are at a crossroads, he said, forced to choose between maintaining affordability and maintaining quality. “Massachusetts is headed in the wrong direction on this, and we are placing the future of the state in jeopardy,’’ Freeland said. Read the rest of this entry »

An Introduction to the MassBudget Tax Primer
By: Kurt Wise and Noah Berger
Thursday, September 9, 2010

Taxes are the way that we combine our resources, through government, to accomplish things that we can’t do as well, or perhaps at all, as individuals: educate our children, build and maintain transportation infrastructure, provide police and fire protection, keep our air and water clean, promote public health, and maintain a social safety net. In a democracy, people are ultimately responsible for deciding how much of their resources to commit to paying for these public goods, and how to share those costs. That’s what tax debates are about. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s the recession.  It’s the trend.  It’s the times.  We hear all sorts of reasons why we can’t expect increased investment in public higher education these days.  But wait….look what’s happening in Maryland and in Ohio!  These excellent articles paint a detailed picture of how higher ed communities can come together, make some compromises, and generate tremendous public and political support that translate into increased funding and frozen costs for students.

The Governor had allocated all of the remaining $96 million from the ARRA funds to public higher education. The Conference Committee puts $75.3 million of the funds to K-12, to make up for cuts in Chapter 70 spending from the state, leaving just $20.8 million for higher education. Read the rest of this entry »

The Conference Committee will resolve differences in the FY 2011 state budgets passed by the House and the Senate.  The Senate budget proposal provides $918.8 million for our campuses — a reduction of 5.2% from this year.  This is much better than the House budget which reduces appropriations to $840.6 million, a cut of 13.3%.  The larger cut will inevitably mean more layoffs and larger fee increases. Read the rest of this entry »

Read this important viewpoint on Revenues from Rep. Matthew Patrick who recently introduced an amendment to the House budget that would have restored the 12% rate on unearned income (dividends and interest).  PHENOM thanks him and the brave Representatives (Kocot, Malia,Provost, Scaccia, Sciortino, Story, Swan, Toomey) who voted in favor of this in the midst of the current wave of anti-tax hysteria that is harming public higher education and other important state services.

On May 18, voters in Arizona approved Proposition 100, which will temporarily increase the sales tax by one cent on the dollar to fund both K-12 and higher education.  In Oregon, voters approved changes in bond rules that will allow public colleges and universities to finance the purchase of existing buildings, not just the construction of new ones.  In Massachusetts, funding for public higher education keeps getting cut and the legislature refuses to consider new taxes.  Is it time to go directly to the voters?

Congress took a step Thursday toward disappointing education leaders who are hoping for another large injection of federal funds, even as the Obama administration stepped up its advocacy for such a boost. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a $58.8 billion bill to provide emergency spending for the 2010 fiscal year, but despite pleas from the Congressional education committees and education groups the legislation did not include any money to help states protect the jobs of schoolteachers and college employees. Also on Thursday, though, Education Secretary Arne Duncan wrote Senate leaders urging them to include up to $23.3 billion for such purposes, in line with legislation proposed by Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa.

(from Inside Higher Ed, May 14, 2010)