COLLEGE COSTS: A QUESTION OF VALUE

Rolf Wegenke, President and CEO of the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, discussed the cost of college.  In 2010-2011, the average tuition was $25,334 to attend a private nonprofit college or university in Wisconsin.  The average financial aid package received by the 61,000 students that attend private college in Wisconsin came to $20,446.  Of that, 73% was in the form of grants and the remainder was subsized loans.  The average net tuition in 2010-2011 came to $4,888 which was 16% lower than it was in 2006-2007. (The average U. W. tuition came to $7,330.) About 90% of the students who attend private college in Wisconsin receive financial aid.    These colleges are not supported by the taxpayers.  They are committed to a mission of providing educational opportunities to students across the state and they are doing it as a pubic service.  Providing financial aid is a moral issue since the aid provided makes a difference in the lives of young people who may not otherwise have attended college.  Wisconsin private and nonprofit colleges and universities enroll a higher percentage of low income and minority students than the U. W. System.  Wisconsin ranks 48 out of the 50 states in personal income growth.  This is a problem for the economic competitiveness of the state.  Wisconsin ranks 26 in the United States as the percentage of its population with a college degree and 26th place in per capita income.  There is a direct relationship between the educational attainment of our citizens and per capita income.  Two thirds of the jobs of the future will require post secondary education.  People with a baccalaureate   degree pay more taxes, draw less on social services, vote more, volunteer more, are healthier and have stronger marriages.  There is a value in every major because people are always changing careers and the changing economy.  About 50% of the jobs they will fill in four years don’t exist today.  Most important to employers are communication skills, critical thinking and reasoning, creativity and character.  Financial aid is empowering since it lets students make choices of what college is best for them.  Wisconsin is 30^th in the country in per capita student aid.  Financial aid will bring about change, value and increase educational attainment in this state and the country that commits to it.