ystem. Oregon House Bill 2939 seeks to remedy this by allowing undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition if they attend an Oregon high school for three or more years, graduate from that high school, are admitted to an Oregon university and continue to work toward residency.Tuition equity is an effort to equalize the access to higher education among all students who seek and deserve it, no matter their socioeconomic status, and its implementation would benefit the state of Oregon socially, economically and ideologically. To grant in-state tuition to one student who has attended Oregon public school all his or her life, while denying it to a classmate who has done the same, sends a message that some students are more deserving of a college education than others. Moreover, if students have attended high school in Oregon for three or more years, graduated and have been accepted into the Oregon University System, it makes no sense to deny them access to higher education at the lower cost their peers and classmates pay. As University President Dave Frohnmayer pointed out, many of these students have gone all the way through K-12 education in the state, and therefore represent significant investments by the state already. It makes no sense to abandon these investments once they reach the university level.
Opponents argue that the bill, by allowing more students to pay lower in-state costs, will cost universities and the state money. True, revenue from out-of-state tuition at the University, which is $19,941, is much higher than from the $6,531 for in-state tuition. According to The Register-Guard, an analysis on a similar proposal - Senate Bill 769 of the 2005 legislative session - concluded that it would increase immediate costs to the OUS by $2 million if 80 non-citizen students attended a public university and paid in-state tuition.
But according to a 2007 report by University economics professor Larry Singell titled "A Study of the Economic Impact of the University of Oregon," the University's 2005 graduating class will pay almost $280 million in state income tax over the course of their careers, and more than 70,000 University graduates reside in Oregon. The study also found that Oregon taxpayers receive close to $5 in tax revenue for every $1 of state funding invested in a University student over a two-year period. According to the OUS, 78 percent of 2005 Oregon University System graduates stayed in Oregon. Denying students access to higher education because they cannot afford it not only excludes a large population from the benefits a college education provides, such as a more stable, higher-paying job, but also denies Oregonians the financial benefits brought by college-educated citizens.
"You have the choice to let students continue their education or deny it and make it more likely they will be more dependent on the state in the future," Portland State University president Wim Wiewel said.
In times of financial crisis, it seems logical to think in terms of which actions will save the most money as quickly as possible. But the wisest actions are the ones that plan ahead, and that is what tuition equity and HB 2939 aim to do. An investment in education is an investment in the future, no matter who is being educated.
Source : media.www.dailyemerald.com/media/storage/paper859/news/2009/04/16/Opinion/Investing.In.Oregons.Educ
Opponents argue that the bill, by allowing more students to pay lower in-state costs, will cost universities and the state money. True, revenue from out-of-state tuition at the University, which is $19,941, is much higher than from the $6,531 for in-state tuition. According to The Register-Guard, an analysis on a similar proposal - Senate Bill 769 of the 2005 legislative session - concluded that it would increase immediate costs to the OUS by $2 million if 80 non-citizen students attended a public university and paid in-state tuition.
But according to a 2007 report by University economics professor Larry Singell titled "A Study of the Economic Impact of the University of Oregon," the University's 2005 graduating class will pay almost $280 million in state income tax over the course of their careers, and more than 70,000 University graduates reside in Oregon. The study also found that Oregon taxpayers receive close to $5 in tax revenue for every $1 of state funding invested in a University student over a two-year period. According to the OUS, 78 percent of 2005 Oregon University System graduates stayed in Oregon. Denying students access to higher education because they cannot afford it not only excludes a large population from the benefits a college education provides, such as a more stable, higher-paying job, but also denies Oregonians the financial benefits brought by college-educated citizens.
"You have the choice to let students continue their education or deny it and make it more likely they will be more dependent on the state in the future," Portland State University president Wim Wiewel said.
In times of financial crisis, it seems logical to think in terms of which actions will save the most money as quickly as possible. But the wisest actions are the ones that plan ahead, and that is what tuition equity and HB 2939 aim to do. An investment in education is an investment in the future, no matter who is being educated.
Source : media.www.dailyemerald.com/media/storage/paper859/news/2009/04/16/Opinion/Investing.In.Oregons.Educ
No comments:
Post a Comment