 |
|
| February 1999 Montana students shoulder In making their case for budget requests before the Montana Legislature recently, UM officials presented a report comparing numbers from the 1998-99 school year with 1978-79, when House Speaker John Mercer earned his degree at UM. In 1979, Mercer would have spent $626 for a year's worth of tuition and fees. Adding in the cost of meals, dorm and books, he'd have paid $2,504. In comparison, a student in 1999 will spend $2,777 for the year's tuition and fees, or $7,292 including meals, dorm and books. State appropriations have not risen accordingly. In 1978-79, Montana appropriated $11.81 per $1,000 of personal income to higher education. In 1998-99, higher education rated only $7.50 per $1,000 of personal income. By contrast, three of Montana's border states spent considerably more per $1,000 of personal income on higher education in 1998-99: North Dakota, $13.25; Wyoming, $12.88; and Idaho, $10.77. Another method of comparison shows that when Mercer received his degree in 1979, the Legislature appropriated 21 percent of the state budget for higher education. In 1999, higher education accounted for only 11 percent of the budget. UM President George Dennison said that students are paying the price - figuratively and literally - for the budget decreases. Undergraduates now leave UM burdened with an average of nearly $15,000 in student loans. "We haven't kept pace with the costs of educating a student, and an increasing amount of the cost has been shifted to the student," Dennison said. Financial aid and the minimum wage haven't kept up, either. In 1979, Pell Grants to UM students averaged $1,600; in 1999, that amount has risen to only $1,726, an increase of less than 8 percent. During the same time, the minimum wage has risen from $2.90 an hour to $5.25, an increase of 81 percent. Financial aid also represents an important part of the equation. The average loan amount in 1979 was $2,500, compared with $3,206 today, while the average Pell Grant was $1,600 then, compared with $1,726 in 1999. In other words, the average student in 1979 could have qualified for a Pell Grant of $1,600 - 64 percent of the cost of attendance - and worked eight weeks at $2.90 per hour to earn the remaining 34 percent, which would be $903.50. In 1999, however, a student who qualifies for a Pell Grant of $1,726 - only 24 percent of the cost of attendance - must take out a loan of $3,206 (44 percent of the cost) and work 11 weeks at $5.25 per hour to earn the remaining 32 percent, or $2,360. The key difference between the two students is that the 1999 student ends up with a $3,206 loan burden after one year of college, while the 1979 student had no loan burden. Dennison would like to see the report make an impact on the Legislature and on Montanans in general. "I hope people will understand that we're not making enough of an investment in higher education, which is the future of the state and the future of society," Dennison said.
|
|
 |
MAIN HALL TO MAIN STREET HOME |