Porter: Indiana higher education and the students it serves are facing a funding crisis NOW

INDIANAPOLIS – State Rep. Gregory W. Porter (D-Indianapolis), ranking Democrat on the Indiana House Ways and Means Committee, today issued the following statement on the growing crisis of funding for Indiana’s higher education system:

“While there has been rightful attention paid to the inadequate funding provided for Indiana’s public schools in the new biennial state budget that takes effect July 1, it is important to note another critical shortfall in that budget: the sorry support for higher education.

“Higher education operations will be getting a 1.5 percent increase in state support in the new budget. While this is an improvement over the levels of funding provided from 2008-2018 – in those years, state funding per students actually decreased by 1.2 percent – that 1.5 percent figure is still below the cost of inflation.

“The impact is already being felt. By my count, eight state-supported colleges and universities in Indiana have either approved increases in tuition or are seriously considering them. Students attending Indiana University are facing a 2.5 percent tuition increase that translates to an extra $500 the next two years. While tuition rates are being frozen at Purdue’s West Lafayette campus, students attending Purdue’s Fort Wayne and Northwest branches will not be that lucky: their tuition is going up 1.65 percent.

“What have we done to help students deal with these rising figures? Very little. While the budget increases the overall numbers of student aid, that increase will only help students currently eligible for assistance keep their heads above water. Nothing was done to expand eligibility assistance for student aid. A Hoosier Scholar program was finally eliminated this year after a decade of no funding.

“Freezing tuition at all Indiana colleges and universities? Studying the viability of providing a $1,000 stipend to all Hoosier college students not already receiving some financial assistance? Forget it. Both ideas were proposed by House Democrats during the 2019 legislative session, but rejected by House Republicans.

“At a time when the average debt of Hoosier students is at a record level of $29,000, and student debt nationally is at an all-time high of $1.5 trillion, the most viable option to help seems to be a rise in the number of campus-based food banks.

“I believe there is a definite connection between the lack of substantive state support for higher education and the problems students and their families face in trying to make college affordable, both when they are in school and after they graduate. These are issues that must be addressed, and sooner rather than later.

“Of course, since the 2020 session is not a “budget year,” my Republican colleagues will say that we cannot do anything substantive until the next budget session in 2021.

“But the discussion has to begin somewhere, and I think this crisis demands our attention. I can think of five separate ideas that deserve debate.

“Within our state treasury is $130 million in what is called ‘unobligated’ funds that used to be marked for a student loan program called the Indiana Secondary Market for Education Loans (ISMEL). The program has been gone for nearly 20 years, but the money remains…unused. Why not use it to expand assistance programs for forgotten middle class students?

“Or, we could direct Hoosier Lottery revenue ‘growth’ toward higher education student assistance.

“Or, instead of continuing the scheduled reductions in the Corporate and Financial Institutions taxes, we could freeze the cut at current levels and use that funding to help one of our most valuable assets: our students.

“Or, we could redirect millions of dollars from a phased-in reduction of the state sales tax on gasoline toward higher education assistance. A version of this idea was initially proposed by Senate Republicans in their budget plan.

“Or, we could re-open all of our interstate weigh stations and return to enforcing highway weight restriction laws. It has been estimated that we are losing close to $70 million a year for our failure to fully enforce these laws. Again, here is money that could be used to help in student aid and debt relief.

“Again, these are ideas that merit discussion. The crisis we face in higher education is something that cannot be put off until 2021. The time for debating it is now, because the problems we face will only get worse through inattention.”