A Cut Above

Last week, Massachusetts Governor W. Mitt Romney announced his budget, which makes a small increase in revenues while reorganizing many departments. The plan has already faced heavy scrutiny, and soon the House will have its turn to edit Romney’s proposal.

Although some education activists are criticizing Romney’s proposal for forcing cuts to higher education, the plan is sensitive to the function of the university system—to provide a quality education to all students. Moreover, cuts to higher education comparable to those of other departments are fair. In the past, governors have often left cuts vague or targeted universities’ general funds, leaving choices up to college administrators—who usually reduce every budget except for their own. Romney has taken a different tack; he has called for a program that would completely restructure the public universities’ administration, while making them more self-sufficient by increasing tuition.

One change is the elimination of the Office of the President for the UMass system. Making this cut, which would save the state about $14 million, is painful but necessary. Already, each of the 29 public colleges has a chancellor who manages their own school. By eliminating the office that is most removed from directly effecting students, the governor has made education cuts as painless as possible to the state’s students.

The broad philosophy behind Romney’s restructuring is the principle that all public colleges are not the same. Under Romney’s plan, specialized schools such as the College of Art and the Maritime Academy will be given more autonomy. Similarly, UMass-Amherst will have greater control over its own tuition, and will receive a larger base appropriation. Reorganizational cuts like these empower individual universities to follow their own path instead of a cookie-cutter design. For Amherst, increased autonomy allows the college to compete with other distinguished colleges in New England.

Romney’s plan also calls for an across-the-board hike in tuition, which is reasonable so long as the tuition is only placed on those students who can afford it. Currently, Massachusetts’ tuition is below average for New England and mid-Atlantic public colleges. Yet, while bringing Massachusetts’ tuition to par, Romney’s plan mandates that at least 46 percent of any tuition increase go to supplement financial aid programs. The state should continue to ensure the commitment to provide affordable education for all students without placing an undue burden on low- and middle-income families.

Harsh economic times have forced cuts in the state’s education budget, but it’s fortunate that Romney’s plan makes the right changes, maintaining the quality of public education in Massachusetts and not increasing the burden on students’ pocketbooks. When legislators begin their debate on the budget, they should keep Romney’s insightful framework for higher education intact.