The Elections and Higher Education

Although higher education took a back seat to issues like economy and national security during election campaigning this year, the election results will affect anyone seeking education beyond a high school diploma for many years.

One major and fundamental challenge the new incumbents will face is how they will make adjustments to federal and state financial aid and tuition funding formulas.

Many reports this year painted a picture of higher education as a river (an appropriate metaphor for our region that we all understand) with a calm surface hiding strong under currents and obstructions that may alter one’s journey down its course.

For example, 1) after adjustments for inflation, the relative cost of college dropped over ten years, yet tuition rates are rapidly increasing; 2) more learners are attending higher education institutions, but the gap is widening between college opportunity for low- and middle-income learner families and high-income learner families; 3) learner debt levels remain manageable because of record low interest rates, but learners borrow more than two times the money they did ten years ago to pay for college; 4) the federal government increased individual financial aid allocations, but even the maximum allocation does not keep up with rising college costs; 5) as a corollary, federal program funding was not adjusted as individual allocations were increased, so the total number of persons receiving full funding allocations decreased.  In other words, less financial aid dollars are proportionally available to offset rising costs and less people can get college financial aid.

President Obama and Governor Romney both made promises to increase college access and affordability, but neither has a strong record of higher education reform.  Now, after the elections, our Presidential and Congressional officials will make decisions on how these challenges are controlled and managed.  The outcome is a concern because the election results maintain the same partisan balance at the national level.

Higher education, and all those interested in changing their lives through education, have a stake in election outcomes at all government levels even though most candidates said little about the subject. The next four years will now give winners the chance to, hopefully, keep campaign promises that assure affordable educational opportunities remain part of the American Dream for all.