OPINION: In support of higher ed

Now is the worst possible moment for us to abandon or radically change higher education. Boards, administrators and educators in higher ed already have enough problems.

The world of information and technology is changing at warp speed. Our universities are being forced to adapt to demographic changes, deliver online education to students who don’t matriculate on campus, increased competition and campuses that don’t meet current educational needs. Former Governor Jim Hunt added that the “financial model of higher education is fundamentally broken.”

Add to these challenges the “enrollment cliff” of college age students and you recognize higher education already has a full plate and doesn’t need threats coming from Washington.

Enrollments in higher education have declined from a high of 18.1 million in 2010 to 15.4 million in 2022, according to bestcolleges.com. Some in the age group have decided that college is not their only path to success. Others choose employment with firms offering college-like training. But the number one reason college age students don’t enroll in public or private colleges or universities is the cost.

Tuition and fees to University of North Carolina schools has remained frozen for a ninth straight year. The average total cost for an instate student is $27,146 per year and is $45,708 for out of state students. The average cost for private colleges or universities in the U.S. is around $58,000 per year. Upon completion the average college graduate receives a diploma and $38,000 in student loan debt.

According to bestcolleges.com 85 % of first year students get some financial aid. Fifty-six percent of that aid comes from the federal government, either through FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) or Pell grants. Without that aid enrollments would plummet.

Tuitions and fees account for only 17% of UNC System revenues. Thirty percent of revenues comes from state appropriations and another 16% of receipts are from federal appropriation, contracts and grants.

With student tuition and fees frozen, public university leadership must turn increasingly to government to meet ever-escalating cost increases. State revenues to our university system increased 12% over the past five years, but recent state budget revenue projections indicate continued increases might be problematic because state budget surpluses are shrinking. And with all the noise coming out of Washington who knows what changes to higher education will occur?

Current thinking is that Pell Grants and student loan funding is not threatened, but not so with federal research funding. A January report to the UNC Board of Governors indicates that UNC System schools receive more than $2 billion per year from the feds to do research in areas like artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cyber security, agriculture and medicine.

So, 46% of current UNC system revenues, are at risk.

But the revenue picture for the 36 independent colleges and universities in our state is more severe and, in many instances, threatens their very survival. Some of our state’s independent colleges are doing very well financially and academically, but some just hanging on. We’ve heard rumors some in our state are contemplating the shuttering their doors.

According to CNBC, some two dozen colleges across the U.S. closed their doors in 2024 and the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia predicts as many as 80 will close in the next five years. Some are for-profit institutions; most have small enrollments and closures are more frequently in the Northeastern part of the U.S.

In summary, our colleges and universities, whether public are private, are facing big changes. Few deny that change is needed, but those changes can’t be “burn the place down” dramatic. Measured, well-reasoned change is needed. As the old metaphor advises, “don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.”

North Carolina’s founders recognized the value of education when they opened The University of North Carolina, the first public university in the United States, in 1795. Over those 230 years higher education has proven its value constantly. There would have been no Research Triangle Park but for higher education, no world class businesses like SAS Institute or IBM calling North Carolina home and certainly no life changing research that led to medical, technical, agricultural or lifestyle improvements. Whether you are a college graduate or not you are a beneficiary of higher education in our state.

We dare not allow this invaluable resource be diminished and each of us needs to be its champion. This is not a partisan political issue. Let us pledge to tell our elected officials, business leaders or other education leaders of our support and urge them to do likewise.
Malcolm X, the civil rights leader said it best: “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”

Tom Campbell is a Hall of Fame North Carolina broadcaster and columnist who has covered North Carolina public policy issues since 1965. Contact him at tomcamp@carolinabroadcasting.com