When building a house, reductions in cost can be achieved by opting for less expensive trims and fewer extras. If the cost reductions result in shoddier foundation work, however, the house is sure to deteriorate quickly. So it is with the economy. In today's knowledge-based environment, the greater our investment in that most critical of economic underpinnings, education, the greater our chances of broadening the base of our economy and ensuring stability for generations to come.
A state budget shortfall has resulted in our new governor requesting 3 percent budget cuts virtually across the board, including higher education. Next up: plans for a significantly more drastic cutóup to 12 percent. If implemented, this may well send our most capable high school graduates into the warm embrace of institutions elsewhere. Disaffected faculty members and administrators may seek greener pastures, too. We risk losing promising contributors to life here in the commonwealth, perhaps on a long-term basis.
The progress made toward the goals of the Council on Postsecondary Education's 2020 plan to double the number of college graduates in Kentucky may grind to a halt. The vitality that colleges bring to surrounding areas will dwindle.
As public tuition costs rise, families are more likely to find that a private education will not necessarily entail greater sacrifice, once financial aid dollars are factored in. In fact, new financial aid policies emerging at top schools around the nation may result in lower out-of-pocket costs for some than would be incurred by remaining in state.
Princeton University, the first institution in the nation to eliminate loans from all undergraduate financial aid packages, set off shock waves that are changing the landscape of higher education. Highly accomplished students from low and middle income families are finding themselves with a myriad of affordable options.
Following Princeton's lead, Harvard University has retooled its financial aid policy to compete on the basis of price with the nation's leading public universities. Families with incomes up to $180,000 will find their expected contribution to tuition and fees lowered dramatically; families with income below $60,000 will not be asked to contribute toward costs at all. And to match its Ivy peer, Harvard has replaced undergraduate loan expectations with grant dollars in all financial aid award packages.
Yale University has just announced a financial aid initiative very much like Harvard's, but expands its reach to families with annual income up to $200,000.
Public institutions are also determined to cultivate talented students from modest economic circumstances. The University of Louisville offers the "Cardinal Covenant," including full grant aid for tuition and fees, to students whose family income falls at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level and who qualify for federal Pell grants. The University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill offer debt-free education to admitted students whose family income falls at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Carolina's Web site carries a quote from Chancellor James Moeser that we in Kentucky would do well to heed: "College should be possible for everyone who can make the grade, regardless of family income.
New York's governor proposes to add 2