Missing The Point

Republicans in Des Moines are gunning to cut $10 million to the State Regents Universities and go after faculty sabbaticals as an added sweetner. Once again, Republicans take aim, load up and completely and utterly miss the point.

First of all, the sabbaticals: I don't think the savings are going to be quite what the Republicans hope they're going to be. A lot of Professors get grants to cover their costs and I think on the Medical side of the River, Profs have to pay their own way if they want the sabbatical. So it's not the paid vacation people make it out to be- there is real research going on and real contributions being made. (And if faculty can pay their way, why bother freezing them at all?)

Second of all: what they want to cut isn't the problem- in fact, cuts, as usual, avoid the real problems confronting higher education. Prices are going higher and higher with every passing year and there's a glut of degrees out there which is devaluing the overall worth of a Bachelor's Degree. Some of my questions: why aren't all GenEd courses at State Universities free AND fully online? why charge the same for a humanities degree than a hard science degree? and what about our higher education system is good at preparing graduates for the spectacularly shitty job market they're going to face upon graduation?

All of these questions AND more are far, far more relevant to any debates about higher education than the tiresome old answer Republicans have of just cutting everything they consider to be liberal, frivolous and a waste of money. Yet naturally, if any of these Republicans have kids who want to go to college, they might just change their tune when they see what criminal levels of debt are being passed onto future generations courtesy of universities. A college degree should not be a 'debt sentence' for young people. That too should be a stated goal of reforming higher education...

If Republicans are serious about cuts, that's fine- but cut at the top where the real money is spent before you start slicing and dicing down at the bottom where it might actually matter. And instead of grabbing the rusty old budget machete and chopping away, how about a thoughtful debate on how to make college more affordable and sustainable over the long run for all Iowans? That might actually be good public policy- and wouldn't that be a refreshing change of pace?