The pursuit of higher education has been a major issue in Texas for years. This topic is of considerable interest based on the recent debate whether to retain or abolish the policy (Flores & Shepherd, 2014). The policy has raised public concerns both from the Texan citizens and legislators. As the cost of college and University fees continue to rise, then the aspirations of students to attain a higher education will turn out to be a nightmare. The essay will critically analyse the policy history, evaluate its effectiveness and consider its personal and social responsibility.
History
Tuition deregulation at Texas colleges and universities policy was established in the year 2003. The Texas Lawmakers voted for the policy to deregulate college and Universities fees and at the same time allow these institutions to set their tuition rates that were independent from potential legislature oversight (Flores & Shepherd, 2014). The 2003 vote for the deregulation was believed to be a tradeoff where the state, on the one hand, faced a shortfall and at the same time was tightening its belt. According to Finney, Perna & Callan, (2012), this deregulation policy would cut the higher education funding, but it would also deregulate tuition in exchange hence give the colleges and public universities freedom and flexibility to set fees and make up for the loss.
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Evaluation
According to Finney, Perna & Callan, (2012), the supporters of this policy argued that the policy would significantly drive more students to take into consideration Universities offering the best educational value for their money while at the same time force schools to compete on affordability and quality. Evidently, it has been established that the deregulation policy makes sense in the traditional free market, however; the proponents in Texas have not taken into consideration the explosion of the readily accessible loan debt to the students.
Studies have shown that the deregulation policy has had massive unintended consequences that have shortchanged Texas students. According to Flores & Shepherd (2014), public universities have been given the flexibility to set their fees rates implying that these universities have a perverse incentive to raise tuition and fees with an aim to expand their operating budgets. As a result of this deregulation, in 2003, undergraduate students paid about $1,934 for one semester tuition and other charges but a 10 years later, the undergraduate students had to pay about $3,951 per semester (McBain, 2010). This implies that the deregulation made tuition and fee at Texas universities to double. The question raised is whether the quality of a first University degree is worth twice than what it was a 10 years ago. The majority of these students are struggling to repay the higher education exorbitant cost hence have very little money to acquire a home, contribute to the Texas economy or even start a business.
It has further been shown that the deregulation significantly transferred costs to the Universities and Students. Currently, the students are paying more for their public college and University tuition and fees than what the government is paying. For instance, in the year 2012, tuition and fees accounted for approximately 25 percent up from about 17 percent in the year 2003. Texas currently funds less than 20 percent of colleges and universities at Austin’s budget compared to about 85 percent in the early 1970’s. Additionally, the state funding has been shown to account for approximately 22 percent of the UH’s budget compared with about 11 percent some 30 years ago (McBain, 2010).
Personal and Social Responsibility
In a more general view, I have learned that the deregulation policy has made higher education costs to rise rapidly and the majority of the Texas families cannot keep up with it. The ever-escalating cost of College and Universities represents a substantial concern for the majority of Texans. As a society, we have an interest in the government acting to address this problem. The members on both side of the aisle, for instance, can collaboratively work closely with the public to support the legislation to make College and University more affordable for the Texan students by repealing this deregulation policy.
Conclusion
Tuition deregulation at Texas colleges and Universities policy established in the year 2003 has reduced government budget for tuition and fees while increasing the cost to the parents and students. It is clear that the policy has failed considerably where universities and colleges have been given the flexibility to set fees and tuition making undergraduate fees per semester to double. There have been suggestions from both the public and legislators to repeal the deregulation policy with the aim of making education more affordable to the Texan students.
References
Finney, J., Perna, L., & Callan, P. (2012). Hard choices ahead: Performance and policy in Texas higher education. National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education , Retrieved from http://repository.upenn.edu/gse_pubs/322
Flores, S. M., & Shepherd, J. C. (2014). Pricing out the disadvantaged? The effect of tuition deregulation in Texas public four-year institutions. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , 655 (1), 99-122.
McBain, L. (2010). Tuition-Setting Authority and Deregulation at State Colleges and Universities. Policy Matters: A Higher Education Policy Brief. American Association of State Colleges and Universities , 3. Retrieved from
http://www.aascu.org/policy/publications/policy-matters/2010/tuitionsettingauthority.pdf
