Today’s Seattle Times features an opinion piece by President Mark Emmert. In calling for higher tuition to mitigate the worst of proposed budget cuts, President Emmert notes:
The task before the Legislature is daunting, to say the least. I know our legislators are struggling mightily to do the right thing, and I don’t doubt the sincerity of their efforts. But as well-intentioned as they are, enacting either of the two legislative budget proposals would send a clear message that Washington is waving the white flag not only in the global competition of the knowledge economy, but on the future of our children.
Virtually all economists recognize there is no greater engine for creating good-paying jobs and building a state’s economy than high-quality colleges and universities, especially research universities. The Legislature’s budget proposals would cripple the state’s capacity to build our economy at just the worst moment. Under either proposal, our state would be left to choose one of two options: deny 10,000 Washington students access to higher education, or dilute quality so badly that we have to remove the “higher” from higher education. Either one would mean that a great many Washingtonians would not be able to achieve their financial and professional dreams.
You can read the entire article here.