Current Issues
Currently, American Higher Education is faced by several issues that affect smooth learning in the sector. One of the major issues includes shrinking public support despite the increasing tuition cost, which has made higher education quite expensive and unaffordable by many students. In the 21st century, higher education continues to face a constrained and unpredictable reduction of both state and federal funding. For instance, public institutions have been hit very hard by state budget cutbacks. Similarly, federal support of public and private institutions is also at great risk of initiating reduced funding. Therefore, with reduced state and federal financial support both public and private higher education institutions will be significantly affected. Regarding this, the paper discusses the issue of shrinking public support in American higher education.
Since the Great Recession, higher education funding has continually remained low below historical levels, mainly due to budget cuts. For instance, the overall state funding for four-year and two-year public institutions in the 2018 academic year was more than $7 billion below its 2008 level. After the recession, most universities and colleges responded to the reduced funding by increasing the tuition fees paid by students, limiting course offerings, reducing faculty, and also closing campuses in some cases (Mitchell et al., 2019).On March 27, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed the CARES Act that aims to address the economic situation facing the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The Act provided the allocation of relief funds to support higher education public institutions and students. The U.S. Department of Education stated that the first allocation of the relief fund will be used as “cash grants” for students. However, the department said that the funds may not be used by institutions to reimburse themselves. Therefore, failure to use the funds may force the institutions to consider cutting the students’ pay to get their share, thus reducing the expected income by students. Also, some non-profit institutions are excluded from accessing relief funds, while others are denied eligibility to apply for aid from different programs (Blum, 2020). Therefore, such limitations and restrictions to funding significantly affect higher education institutions, as well as the students attending those institutions.
At the beginning of the year, the Senate’s education committee focused on passing a comprehensive Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization. The Act provided for an increment of student Pell Grants, and simplifying application for student aid. However, the committee’s efforts have been quashed as the nation has turned its attention towards addressing the immediate COVID-19 crisis. Regarding this, the impact of COVID-19 on the nation’s economy has made reauthorization of HEA much difficult. According to the head of federal and state policy and advocacy, Shiwali Patel, the Congress is now more focused on dealing with the coronavirus (Murakami, 2020). Therefore, public institutions and students continue to suffer, since some institutions are still conducting online classes. Additionally, many states face budget cuts as a large percentage of funds are being allocated to healthcare due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The states consider slashing funds for public higher education institutions. According to Ohio’s Republican governor, the state will slash its spending on public colleges and universities by $110 Million for two months (Inside Higher Ed., 2020). Therefore, COVID-19 continues to affect the funding of public institutions.
The continued funding cuts have greatly impacted American public universities and colleges, and the outcomes will become even worse if the issue is not well-addressed. For instance, it will lead to a high escalation of tuition cost thus barring most students from accessing university and college education. University or college degree is highly significant, as it increases the possibility of securing a better paying-paying job in the future. However, increasing tuition threatens higher education affordability and access, hence making it difficult for most students to afford a college education. Also, the issue will lead to excessive borrowing by students to pay the required tuition fee and cater for other expenses. Consequently, the students will be left with huge debts to repay. Again, the families will be hit hard by the increased tuition cost, forcing most of them to borrow. As a result, this will expose most families to increased poverty.
Next, continued funding cuts may result in more closure of campuses, reduction of faculties, and elimination of some course offerings, hence leading to reduced academic opportunities for students. Therefore, this will prevent most students from accessing quality higher education. Again, the issue poses the risk of widening education inequalities in the U.S. For instance, increased cost of higher education will make college and university education only affordable to students from high-income families. However, students from low- income families will be unable to afford and access higher education. Also, students of color will be greatly affected due to their inability to afford high costly university and college education. As a result, this will lead to reduced diversity in higher education institutions. Furthermore, the increasing tuition cost imposes a threat of high student dropout, as most students will be unable to complete their higher education. Therefore, the issue needs to be addressed to avoid long-term adverse outcomes.
One important recommendation for addressing the issue of shrinking public support is to develop a comprehensive Higher Education Act, that effectively addresses various needs of both students and institutions. The HEA should provide an increase in the amount of funds given to students. It should also ease the process of applying for student aid to enable more students to access financial aid. Those funds will help students from diverse backgrounds, such as those from low-income families and the students of color to pay their tuition fees and cater for other school expenses. Also, the HEA should increase the amount of funds allocated to colleges and universities to enable them to carry their operations smoothly. It should also remove the restrictions and limitations regarding the eligibility of higher education institutions in accessing relief funds from different sources. Through this, the institutions will be able to access and acquire adequate funds needed to run their various operation. Therefore, having a comprehensive HEA is important in ensuring increased access to higher education by students, as well as improving the quality of education offered by the institutions.
To sum up, the current issue of state and federal funding cuts to higher education is a key area of concern that needs to be addressed. The issue has a major impact both in the short-term and the long-run if it is not solved. For instance, it will result in a high escalation of tuition fees, thus making college and university education unaffordable to most students. Students of color and those from low-income families will be the most affected. As a result, this will lead to increased education inequalities and reduced racial diversity in higher education institutions. Again, funding cuts will lead to the closure of some campuses, elimination of certain course offerings, and reduction of faculties hence reducing enrollment opportunities for students. Therefore, the issue has a serious impact on higher education and should be addressed as soon as possible.
References
Blum, J. (2020). Clearing the Path to Stability. Retrieved 6 May 2020, from https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/04/22/congress-and-education-department-must-correct-unintended-consequences-cares-act.
Inside Higher Ed. (2020). Live Updates: Latest News on Coronavirus and Higher Education. Retrieved 6 May 2020, from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/05/05/live-updates-latest-news-coronavirus-and-higher-education.
Mitchell, M., Leachman, M., & Saenz, M. (2019). State Higher Education Funding Cuts Have Pushed Costs to Students, Worsened Inequality. Retrieved 6 May 2020, from https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/state-higher-education-funding-cuts-have-pushed-costs-to-students.
Murakami, K. (2020). The Higher Education Act and the Pandemic. Retrieved 6 May 2020, from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/04/15/senate-committee-was-close-deal-higher-ed-then-came-pandemic.