Blunt, McCaskill stress controls on college costs

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The amount a state resident pays to attend Southeast Missouri State University during the current school year would have paid for a year at the state's flagship University of Missouri-Columbia campus during the 2000-2001 term with $119 to spare.

Skyrocketing tuition has been the bane of students and their parents in recent times, with the cost of attendance, excluding room and board, among Missouri's 13 public four-year universities jumping by an average of 52.3 percent since the 2000-2001 school year.

Given the rising costs, higher education affordability is an important pocketbook issue for Missouri voters in the gubernatorial campaign between Democratic State Auditor Claire McCaskill and Republican Secretary of State Matt Blunt.

Missouri's public universities are each governed by independent boards whose members are appointed by the governor. While the legislature determines how big a share of the state's $1 billion higher education budget each school gets, the governing boards have sole discretion on how the money is spent.

McCaskill says those boards have become dominated by members who merely act as cheerleaders for the institutions they are supposed to oversee and too often simply rubber-stamp the decisions of administrators. McCaskill pledges to appoint members primarily concerned with ensuring taxpayer money is spent appropriately.

"I'm looking for fiscal hawks and people who understand their role is not to promote but to ask questions," McCaskill said.

As state auditor, McCaskill has been critical of wasteful administrative expenses, including salary escalation for top university officials. What most raises her ire is when governing boards provide university presidents with so-called "golden parachutes" upon retirement.

In the most recent example, Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield granted its departing president a continuing salary plus moving expenses.

"I don't think we can afford to pay retiring presidents $200,000 a year to live in Idaho," McCaskill said.

To reduce administrative overhead, McCaskill would require universities to submit cost-containment plans along with their annual budget requests. In order to get a boost in appropriations, they would have to demonstrate adequate efforts to control expenses.

University officials often cite cuts in state spending on higher education as the primary factor driving up tuition. During the same period that average tuition grew by more than half, however, the state appropriation for the Missouri Department of Higher Education was reduced by only 8.1 percent, or $92.8 million.

In addition to cutting the fat, Blunt proposes requiring the legislature's approval for proposed tuition increases that exceed the rate of inflation. Such a move would mark a dramatic reduction in the power of university governing boards and likely require a voter-approved constitutional amendment.

Due to scheduling conflicts, Blunt's campaign canceled multiple interview appointments with the Southeast Missourian on the issue. During Monday's televised gubernatorial debate in Kansas City, however, Blunt said the "drastic action" of giving the legislature the final say on tuition decisions would help keep down costs.

"We are pricing higher education out of the reach of too many Missouri families," Blunt said.

If current trends continue unchecked, Blunt said he and his wife, who is expecting their first child, can expect to pay $160,000 to send the child to a Missouri public university for four years.

Blunt also proposes a "truth in tuition" plan that would require schools to provide incoming freshmen or their parents with written estimates of what a four-year education is likely to cost so they aren't hit with surprise increases midway through a degree.

On the issue of financial aid, McCaskill would double the $50 million a year the state currently spends on scholarships. McCaskill says more than half of the current amount is distributed to students based on academic merit and that she would earmark the additional funds strictly based on financial need.

In the debate, Blunt also pledged more money for scholarships, although he specified no amount or how the money should be allocated.

"We need to do a better job providing merit-based financial aid to the best and brightest in our state and also need-based financial aid so that every young Missourian has an opportunity to secure an education," Blunt said.

Next week: Tax policy

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COUNTING RISING COLLEGE COSTS

Annual tuition costs, including mandatory student fees, for a Missouri resident and percentage growth between the 2000-2001 and 2004-2005 school years at the state's four-year public universities:

2000-20012004-2005percent growth

Central Missouri State $3,210 $5,340 66.4

Northwest Missouri State $3,330 $5,325 60.0

Missouri Southern $2,496 $3,976 59.3

Missouri Western $3,026 $4,778 57.9

Harris-Stowe $2,700 $4,255 57.6

University of Missouri-Rolla $4,805 $7,299 51.9

University of Missouri-Kansas City $4,754 $7,192 51.3

University of Missouri-Columbia $4,726 $7,100 50.2

University of Missouri-St. Louis $4,940 $7,378 49.4

Lincoln University $3,314 $4,952 49.4

Truman State $3,712 $5,482 47.7

Southwest Missouri State $3,564 $5,128 43.9

Southeast Missouri State $3,390 $4,845 42.9

Average $3,690 $5,619 52.3

SOURCE: Missouri Department of Higher Education Southeast Missourian