Cary Nelson, president of the AAUP, makes the case for public higher education as a public good to be completely funded by tax dollars. That is, to eliminate tuition as a user fee for this public service. This argument for taking into account the political nature of public higher education (citizen formation) rather than an exclusive focus on the vocational model (purchase of certificates for use on the job market) has been my position all along. (UPDATE: It was also made by Adolph Reed in 2001.)
Incremental state funding of public higher education is over.... Public funding is being inexorably replaced by incremental cost shifting from states to students, with tuition revenue and student debt replacing tax dollars.
Only a complete restructuring of the financial model and a redefinition of the social purpose of public higher education will suffice. Higher education must be reconceived as a public good and a human right.
It must be understood as a key component of the social contract that holds a democracy together and makes it credible. It helps produce a citizenry prepared to participate in public life and public debate in an informed and articulate way, capable of evaluating legislative proposals and political rhetoric, aware of the dynamic relationship between historical precedents and current struggles.
Public higher education thus must be altogether publicly funded. The battle must now be over fundamentals, not crumbs.
(Emphasis added.) Read the whole thing here.
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