Gov. Janet Brewer
Gov. Jan Brewer has fired a shot across the bow of Arizona State University and its president, Michael Crow, by suggesting the state can’t afford two top-tier research universities.
Arizona’s governor is a nonvoting member of the Arizona Board of Regents, and Brewer attended her first regents’ meeting today in Tucson. She clearly isn’t happy about the three public universities again adopting huge hikes in student tuitions, this time in response to recent cuts in state funding. At ASU, tuition for the typical in-state student has risen by nearly 63 percent since 2002, and will be at $6,700 for the fall semester (including a “temporary” recession surcharge).
In her prepared remarks, Brewer said she will use federal stimulus money to back fill some of the cash that universities have lost, with the intent of limiting the cost increases for students. But the governor warned that the federal money runs out in two years, and she challenged the regents to come up with better business model that will keep university costs as affordable as possible. This sentence was particularly intriguing:
“Having almost all of our undergraduates in research level universities is too expensive.”
While not mentioning Crow or ASU by name, she clearly had both in mind. Elevating ASU’s research status to among the best in the country has been Crow’s driving priority for the past six years, although it still lags behind the University of Arizona. ASU also has the state’s largest student enrollment (and one of the largest in the country).
I expect lots of political clashes between Crow’s ASU and the Brewer administration over the next year.
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There are alternatives for college freshmen and sophomores - the Maricopa Community College District Colleges plus the many other in community colleges around the state. And why not let the market decide? If the students are willing to pay the higher tuition rates for the ‘research’ environment, than perhaps the values speaks for itself.
I think your response to this article is ill informed and well, stupid. The MCCD in itself is expensive. It’s $71 a credit, whereas say a CC in california is a mere $20. Now lets take a look at the california state university system. ONE YEAR for a full time student($3,048) is LESS than one semester at ASU($6600 approximately).
Let the market decide? I’m sorry, but in reading the state consitution, I dont remember reading “market decideds tuition”. It definitely says “as nearly free as possible”.
And dont make assumptiions that students are there for the research environment. The state universities were implemented to provide alternative affordable education to Arizona residents. It was. Then Michael Crow got in bed with the arizona board of regents.
I just want to ask one question: Where has all this money been going since he started jacking up the tuition? You should really check out some of the classrooms. Some of them are so dilapidated, you wouldn’t know you were in a “research institution. Michael Crow has spread the school so thin, it literally has holes in it.
I have a thought. Instead of this path to “research university” stardom, he use the money to fix what’s already there. And for heaven’s sake, reduce the tuition. He wants to increase the student enrollment, lets match California’s tuition cost. It’s not rocket science Mr. Crow. Maybe you can get one of the research programs to check into this.
Check out my website which advocates reforming the Arizona University System by transforming ASU West & Polytechnic campuses into independent “low-cost” and “medium-cost” state universities, respectively.
Click on the above link to view the details of my Restructuring Plan.
The ONLY reason Cal’s system is so much cheaper is huge (and now quickly shrinking) state subsidies. Arizona would go bankrupt (the direction calif is headed) if they try the same thing. There is no ‘market’ in government run institutions. Comparing AZ’s system with Cal’s is silly. The UC and CSU systems are both laying off and cutting back on classes.
It is long past time for the legislature to fund our universities and public instruction K-12. The majority obviously wants to keep em dumb and voting Republican. The attacks on scientific research are unconscionable.Starve education and expand prisons. We have become the laughing stock of the world with the incredible amount of illiteracy and just plain stupid people who are dirt poor but proud conservatives who will do anything the hot air manufacturers at Fox and CNN tell to do.Proud dittoheads all!.Republicans have succeeded in dumbing down the country, but we are really fed up with the outright theft and unconstitutional attempts to steal from the treasury to support their religious base. Some of us actually got an education and will fight you tooth and nail to re institute funding for public education.