Support builds for tuition lid
Clemson's Barker calls proposal 'quality cap'

Published: Monday, March 26, 2007 - 2:00 am

By Anna Simon
CLEMSON BUREAU
asimon@greenvillenews.com

Gov. Mark Sanford supports a state House budget proviso capping tuition at the state's public colleges and universities at 5 percent for the 2007-08 school year.

"You can have the best colleges and universities in the world, but if you can't afford to go to them that's not going to do anybody any good," Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said.

But Clemson University President Jim Barker has warned that without adequate state funding, a tuition cap "simply becomes a quality cap," and doesn't "recognize the different mission and unique resource requirements of research universities."

A tuition cap in last year's House budget failed to pass the Senate, but there's more support this year because the budget proposal also includes more state money for the schools, said state Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens, chairman of the Senate Rules committee, who favors a cap if there's adequate state funding.

However state Sen. Thomas Alexander, R-Walhalla, whose district includes Clemson, is opposed. He said a cap would impact "the quality of education for students who go out in the work force."

Schools now get a larger percentage of their funding from tuition and fees rather than state dollars. That shift alone "is a strong argument" that the individual institutions should set tuition, said University of South Carolina spokesman Russ McKinney.

While state funding increased last year, the schools haven't recovered from years of budget cuts, said Cathy Sams, spokeswoman at Clemson University, where the 2006-07 general fund appropriation was $14.2 million less than in 2001-02.

The state Commission on Higher Education reports that general education and appropriations to South Carolina's public universities and colleges is $92.6 million below the 2000-02 level.

"It will take more than one year to recover," Sams said.

Proponents of caps want tuition to be affordable. Opponents fear the schools could be hamstrung by state control of both major revenue streams.

"It is a two-sided issue and both sides must be considered," said Joe Marks, director of Education Data Services for the Southern Regional Education Board. "The funding needs of the college have to be balanced with affordability for the students."

For Susan Vance, a Mauldin mother with one child at Clemson and another entering in the fall, it's all about her checkbook balance.

"I would love to hold the price down and know what to expect," said Vance, who was stunned by a double-digit increase when her daughter entered college two years ago.

State Sen. Mike Fair, R-Greenville, who sits on the Senate Education committee, is concerned about the amount of debt many graduates carry -- even those with state scholarship assistance.

But he doesn't want to hurt cutting-edge work and growing national recognition at the state's three research universities -- Clemson, USC and the Medical University of South Carolina, which help drive the state's economy.

Fair, who is undecided on tuition caps, said it's only a short-term solution.

"We are going to have to get creative in our thinking," said Fair, who is interested in the recent chartering of the University of Virginia, and ponders whether it's an option for Clemson.

"Clemson is in a unique position to do something like that if the legislature would let them," Fair said. "They could charge whatever they want to, the degree from Clemson is so meaningful."

There's talk through the 16 SREB states about slowing tuition increases to keep it affordable, said Gale Gaines, vice president for Student Services with the regional board.

Virginia cut tuition by five percent several years ago. Last year, Louisiana authorized no tuition increases, and Maryland prohibited increases at most, although not all, of its schools, Gaines said.

Of the 16 states, the individual institutions currently set undergraduate in-state tuition in 10 states, including South Carolina, Gaines said.

The legislature sets in-state undergraduate tuition in Florida, and Boards of Regents or other state agencies control tuition at least to some degree in Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina and Oklahoma, Gaines said.

In South Carolina, Sanford advocates restructuring of higher education under either a board of regents or a stronger Commission of Higher Education as a long term solution, and sees tuition caps as a short term fix to keep tuition affordable.