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A Letter from Tony Maggio
(this letter was submitted to the Oklahoman
but was not selected for publication)
7/14/03
It should be no surprise that legislators are having “second thoughts”
about trusting universities and Regents to act responsibly in raising tuition.
(Oklahoman 7/13/03). Trusting the fox with the hen house usually
results in fewer chickens and a happy fox.
David Boren promised to hold increases to 10 to 15%. Well his math
or integrity is a bit fuzzy, even for an x-politician. Increases
in tuition and fees for OU Freshman this fall will total a whopping $1,1134
(39%) in addition to a $472 (10%) increase in room and board, although inflation
has been less than 3%.
Some say that the over $40,000 four year college cost in Oklahoma is
still cheep when compared to the average of the other Big 12 schools.
Well let’s test that. --The current formula allows Oklahoma tuition and
fees to equal the average of the Big 12. But, Oklahoma’s per capita average
income is only 86% of the average of the other Big 12 states, all of which
have higher per capita incomes. So proportionally Oklahomans will
pay more for their state supported college degrees than the average taxpayers
in surrounding states. In addition, relative to the average of the
other Big 12 states, Oklahoma’s average per capita income has been getting
worse each year. Unfortunately, nothing indicates that trend will change.
Thus, this college cost penalty to Oklahomans will get even larger
each year.
Increasing the out-of-pocket cost of a college education will not result
in more deserving youngsters going to college in Oklahoma. Shifting
the burden for the cost of football stadiums and bloated administrative
cost from tax dollars and legislative accountability to the backs of student
debt where it can increase unchallenged is a cruel hoax and shameful government.
This bad policy will exacerbate two of the main causes of Oklahoma’s
economic growth problem. 1) This state today, produces too few college
graduates per capita compared to the surrounding states, and 2) too few
Oklahoma grads remain in this state to work. These two factors result
in a less highly trained employee base from which to attract new or support
growing industries, and consequently fewer high paying jobs in the state,
and therefore a lower income per capita.
By not linking maximum tuition increases to Oklahoma’s per capita personal
income relative to the Big 12 state average, the legislature is simply
allowing uncontrolled and irresponsible increases to be passed to taxpayers
and students. The Boren plan will result in fewer Oklahoma kids going
to college, perpetuate a decline in per capita income and continue
our universities as Oklahoma funded “brain farms” for other states.
Let’s see if the legislature really has a second thought, or as usual
no thought at all.
Tony Maggio
Mr. Maggio is a former Sr. Vice President of Engineering and Corporate
Chief Technical Officer of Seagate Technology and former OCAST Board Member.
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