Next month, even college students on summer break will be doing a little math as they figure out how much a higher education will cost them in the coming school year.
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Now that the legislative session is over, higher education officials know tuition increases are on the horizon. The state's budget included little new money for public colleges and universities so tuition likely will increase to help offset about $43 million in rising operational costs.
Students from low- to middle-income families are fortunate to have Oklahoma's Promise, a state-funded scholarship program that provides free tuition to qualifying students. Some schools also provide help with books and fees.
Community colleges in Oklahoma City and Tulsa have gone a step further, supporting their own scholarship programs for students in their respective metro areas.
Oklahoma City Community College started its OKC-Go! program in 1999, providing about two years of tuition-free education and financial help with books and fees for graduates of the Oklahoma City School District. Earlier this year, college officials expanded the program to include Western Heights Public Schools graduates.
Last year, Tulsa Community College created a similar program open to all high school graduates in Tulsa County.
Surely there are some students who perhaps could afford college on their own. But mostly, the programs hope to attract students who couldn't afford even the relatively meager tuition rates at community colleges. That undoubtedly includes students who must work part time or full time to support themselves or their families and many first-generation college students.
Four-year schools typically get the most attention from students, parents and policy-makers. But community colleges have an important and often undervalued role. It's good for the state that the two-year schools are making higher education a possibility for an increasing number of students.
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The small 2 and 4 year colleges are the backbone of Oklahoma's higher education system. Unfortunately, OU and OSU get almost all the money and yet serve only a fraction of the total student population in undergraduate courses.
Community colleges are the real "boot-strap" colleges in our country. They can be a student's path to an escape from poverty. Okla could save a lot of money and provide more opportunity to students by consolidating the vo-tech system into the community college system. However, that will take political courage. I'm afraid we may be out of luck.
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Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.