PD Editorial: So much for keeping college affordable

In the metaphorical game of chicken between Gov. Jerry Brown and the UC Board of Regents, neither side blinked. The real losers were California students who will pay a lot more to get a college degree in coming years.

The only real winners were banks that provide student loans. They will profit as students pay off their debt, with interest, for years after graduation.

For those whose thoughts had already turned to turkey and pumpkin pie, here’s a quick recap. During the recession, lawmakers cut higher education. It still hasn’t returned to its previous levels. Despite a pledge to Brown to hold tuition in check for several years in exchange for a 4 percent increase each year in state funding, UC Regents said they would raise tuition if the state did not come up with more money.

In the end, the state did not hand over more funds, and the regents made good on their threat last week. Tuition will increase 5 percent annually for five years (a 28 percent total increase thanks to compounding). In dollars, tuition and fees will go from $12,192 this year to $15,560.

The Project on Student Debt reports the average graduate of a California public four-year university borrowed $20,665 for their education. That’s not bad compared to other states, but when school costs $3,368 more per year, for some that will be an additional $13,472 in debt before graduation.

It’s hard to come out ahead from a deep financial hole. When students enter the workforce owing tens of thousands of dollars, it forces them to postpone such things as saving, purchasing a home and having children. Some of them don’t catch up for decades.

Tuition and fees at the UC system are more expensive than flagship schools in many other states. The University of Oregon, University of Nevada-Las Vegas and University of Texas, for example, all are cheaper but they differ in one crucial aspect. At UC schools, out-of-state students pay 272 percent of in-state tuition. Those three schools and many others charge more than 300 percent more. If California public colleges and universities exist to educate state residents, then rather than increase tuition across the board, regents should be increasing costs for students from out of state and out of the country.

Education is a public investment. Taxpayers fund K-12 education because an educated populace is a cornerstone of a successful economy and democracy. In the same way, college graduates are necessary to California’s and America’s success. We need nurses, engineers, teachers, computer scientists, writers, business managers and other who will keep American competitive in a global marketplace.

But the path to competitiveness begins with assuring students face an open gate to education - not a wall. UC Regents need to put away the bricks.