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Monday, August 18, 1997

The California state Assembly made an excellent decision when it passed the Higher Education Partnership Act. The state Senate, which is currently reviewing the bill, should do the same.

Over the past several years, lawmakers have repeatedly cut from the already-small state education fund, often forcing public universities to make drastic mandatory student fee hikes. With the approval of this bill, the lawmakers in the Assembly have reassured us of their commitment to providing quality education to those who want it. Now it's up to the state Senators to show us they mean business.

The bill, which would go into effect July 1, 1999, promises to provide the California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC) systems with at least the amount of funds allocated the previous year, with adjustments made according to changes in per capita income. Fee increases may not exceed the percentage increases in per capita income.

What does this mean to students? No drastic fee increases. While this is a great thing, it may also create problems in emergencies, which may only be provided for by student fee increases. The money has to come from somewhere, and the measly adjusted-income fee increases won't cover those costs. The policy needs more flexibility in dealing with emergency situations which may arise later on.

Nevertheless, schools still win big with the bill because it also promises a minimum level of funding to the UC and CSU systems. This steady cash flow is a refreshing change because it indicates that legislators want to provide adequate funding to higher education. Education should be guaranteed a certain amount of funds each year. In fact, legislators should go one step further and guarantee money for education in the state constitution. Bills can easily be repealed, but an amendment to the state constitution would give the promise more permanence.

Another positive aspect of the bill is that any campus-based fee hikes not in effect Jan. 1, 1997 are prohibited without being approved by a student referendum. We are still subject to the UC Regents' increases, such as the 50 percent fee hikes in 1992, but this bill relieves us of having to worry about any additional campus-based fee hikes from the state.

But now that legislators are looking to sign this new agreement into law, it tells us they are making a solid commitment to keep fees steady, and students won't see any more dramatic hikes.

The education act is a valiant effort by the state to work toward making the Higher Education Master Plan a reality. This plan was envisioned over 30 years ago to make higher education more accessible to students by requiring low fees. Even though a ceiling for fees isn't a perfect answer, at least the schools should have enough money to offset the need for costly fee increases.

The California schools have suffered enough budget cuts. After years of taking from education's share of the general fund, it's about time they commit to putting it back in. The Higher Education Partnership Act reaffirms the importance of education, and it's great to see that the state lawmakers are making it a priority. The policy still has some bugs that need to be worked out, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.