I recently received a chart from the Council of President’s (COP) office that kind of left me speechless. No matter how close you are to budget issues, etc. it’s important every now and then to take a look at the bigger picture. The problem in this case, is that the bigger picture is pretty depressing.
If you wanted one image that was illustrative of the state of higher education in Washington State today, this chart from the COP would be my nominee. What it shows is that during the past decade, while “overall” state budget funding for higher education has increased, when you look at the three major sectors of higher education — community colleges, Higher Education Coordinating Board (mostly financial aid), and four year institutions — state funding has actually decreased for the public baccalaureates during this time compared to increases for two year schools (28%) and student financial aid (102%).
If anyone is wondering why Washington lags the rest of the nation in the production of baccalaureate and graduate and professional degrees, despite having one of the most efficient and productive four year systems in the nation, I think the answer may lie in the old adage “you get what you pay for.”