21 August 2012

Why Levelized Tuition is Inevitable

From the California State University system comes this remarkable news:
The California State University system is embroiled in a controversy over plans to admit higher-paying out-of-state and international students to its undergraduate and graduate programs next spring while barring California residents because of state funding cuts.

The issue has become so heated that department leaders on some campuses are saying that rather than turn away Californians, they will not accept any students into their programs.
State budget cuts combined with differential tuition for in-state and out-of-state students is leading universities to act in the direction of their economic interests. The Cal State decision to ban in-state students may be a highly visible publicity gambit, but it does show the consequences of the current incentive structure.

A Cal State spokesman explains:
“We need to make appropriate enrollment cuts and that, unfortunately, has to be California residents,” Cal State spokesman Mike Uhlenkamp said to the Times. “If a campus has a program with the capacity to bring in students who are not subsidized and who are paying for the entirety of instruction, they could … bring in additional revenue that could go to benefit state residents.”
Cal State provides more evidence that the days of in-state tuition appear numbered.

H/T MattL in the comments.