Looking at Higher Education in W.Va.
An idea to trim state government spending “run up the flagpole” earlier this year in Charleston was pulled down quickly by the usual suspects. It was that perhaps a look should be taken at spending on higher education.
Rumors a few small colleges might be closed spelled doom for any higher-education cost-cutting measures. Throughout the state, people loyal to the institutions from which they graduated and to those in their regions had an over-my-dead-body reaction to that.
But the idea refuses to go quietly. A few legislators are suggesting anew a review of whether West Virginia needs and can afford all its public colleges and universities.
The magnitude alone of what Mountain State taxpayers spend on higher education — about $400 million in this year’s general revenue budget alone — suggests strongly that such a review is appropriate. Like every other aspect of government spending, this one should be looked at in the context of declining state revenue.
Reducing West Virginians’ accessibility to higher education is not something that should be taken lightly, of course. Our state has one of the lowest percentages of residents with college degrees in the nation.
But demanding more efficiency from public colleges and universities and considering whether some programs should be closed or consolidated with others, is essential. In the spirit of open inquiry so many in higher education profess to promote and defend, a thoughtful review should be launched by state legislators.
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