Shift to higher ed vouchers

Evidently, I’m not the only one who thinks Oregon’s public higher education system should consider privatizing some of its institutions and shifting to scholarship or vouchers for needy students. James Garland thinks so too. Patricia Cohen, writing in the book review section of the NY Times “Education Life” supplement, reviews the book “Saving Alma Mater: A Rescue Plan for America’s Public Universities” (here):

James C. Garland, the former president of Miami University in Ohio, would also like the university to embrace the market, although for a different reason. Mr. Garland is concerned with putting public university systems on a solid financial footing. Although they educate 80 percent of the nation’s college students, public institutions have seen their quality sapped by shrinking government aid, changing demographics and growing income inequality. In “Saving Alma Mater,” Mr. Garland argues that government should end subsidies altogether and allow supply and demand to rule.

Let public universities compete for students and set their own tuitions. To ensure that poor students can afford to attend, legislatures should eliminate institutional financing and instead use that money for financial aid to individuals. In essence, he proposes a voucher system.

The summary of Garland’s book on Powell’s Books website says (here):

He concludes that the era is long past when state appropriations can enable public universities to keep their fees low and affordable. Saving Alma Mater thus calls for the partial deregulation of public universities and a phase-out of their state appropriations. Garland's plan would tie university revenues to their performance and exploit the competitive pressures of the academic marketplace to control costs, rein in tuition, and make schools more responsive to student needs.

Yes, such a proposal should be on the table in Oregon.