OPINION: I’m a college president, and I think higher education has to do a better job of controlling costs

Every fall, millions of American parents and caregivers make extraordinary sacrifices to send a child to college. They work overtime, postpone retirement, take on debt or set aside other priorities because they believe higher education can create opportunities they never had.

Students make sacrifices too. Many work nights and weekends, juggle family responsibilities or borrow against their future because they believe a college degree is worth it.

Those sacrifices deserve accountability. And it’s time for colleges to provide it.

For too long, colleges and universities have responded to growing public skepticism by defending the value of higher education. We produce reports, commentaries and a lot of billboards explaining why college still matters; we remind families that graduates earn more than nongraduates over their lifetimes and celebrate the role universities play in preparing the workforce.

Every one of those arguments is true. They simply miss the point.

Most Americans recognize a degree has value. What they increasingly question is whether today’s universities have earned the right to charge what they do. They feel defeated by colleges that raise tuition more readily than they reduce bureaucracy. They chafe at institutions that scrutinize family finances more rigorously than their own budgets.

Too often, university leaders assume declining public confidence can be reversed solely through better messaging. It cannot. Trust is earned through disciplined stewardship and measurable results.

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Families are right to expect universities to treat every tuition dollar with the same care they bring to their personal finances.

Students are right to expect that their degree will open the door to opportunity and that earning it won’t burden them with a debt they carry into adulthood.

Taxpayers are right to expect institutions to operate efficiently and demonstrate measurable value.

Universities are good at explaining why costs are unavoidable, but they are reluctant to ask whether every cost is justified. Before asking families to pay more, every university president and chancellor should first answer one question.

What have we done to deserve that investment?

Related: If higher education wants to rebuild public trust, start with making college affordable

The value of affordability is a lesson I’ve learned throughout my career in higher education leadership, first as executive vice president for research and partnerships at Purdue University, then as president of the University of Vermont and now at the University of Arizona. In my time serving at these institutions over the past 14 years, there have been no across-the-board tuition increases.

Purdue froze tuition in 2013 and that freeze remains in place today. While at Vermont, we froze all tuition and fees for all students for five years. At Arizona, we have held resident undergraduate tuition flat for three consecutive years while eliminating a $177 million budget deficit and restoring the university’s financial foundation.

Those outcomes didn’t happen because higher education suddenly became less expensive. They happened because we made intentionally different choices.

To eliminate the deficit and restore financial sustainability at Arizona, we cut administrative spending by more than 20 percent; dissolved inefficient, multimillion-dollar administrative units; and challenged ourselves to operate leaner, including a comprehensive evaluation of all leadership positions that reduced the number of vice president positions to three.

At the same time, we strengthened transfer pathways with community colleges, introduced accelerated three-year medical and veterinary degree programs to address critical workforce shortages and expanded flexible online programs to reduce both the cost and the time required to earn a University of Arizona degree.

Every unnecessary dollar a university spends is a dollar that a family must earn, save or borrow. Those choices carry a human cost. They mean more debt, more financial pressure and greater sacrifice for the families who place their trust in us. Universities should spend tuition dollars with the same discipline families use when deciding whether they can afford college in the first place.

A university education must deliver far more than a diploma. It must prepare graduates for meaningful careers while equipping them with the judgment, resilience, adaptability and perspective to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

That is why Arizona is leveraging philanthropic contributions and strengthening industry partnerships to expand internships and experiential learning and significantly increase study abroad opportunities for students whose financial circumstances would otherwise keep those experiences beyond their reach.

Opportunity should not depend on a family’s income. It should be part of what every great public university provides.

Elite private universities dominate the national conversation about higher education while educating only a tiny fraction of America’s students. They are extraordinary institutions that deserve credit for their achievements. But they are not the institutions that will determine whether most Americans can afford or obtain a college degree.

Related: America’s regional universities can still be a bargain in a sea of high-priced options

That responsibility and privilege belong to flagship public universities. We educate millions of students from every background and create opportunities at a scale no other sector can match. Our defining strength is not exclusivity. It is excellence at scale delivered at a price families can afford.

The American people are asking universities for something reasonable. Challenge costs before raising prices. Reduce bureaucracy before financing it. Measure success by the opportunities we create, not simply the number of students we enroll.

When public universities make those choices, states should respond by investing more in the students they educate. That investment is not a subsidy for the institutions. It is a down payment on the workforce, economic competitiveness and civic leadership every state needs.

Public funding should reward institutions that produce results and the lion’s share of America’s degrees while responsibly managing taxpayer and tuition dollars.

Americans shouldn’t have to trust higher education because university presidents tell them to. They should trust us because our actions leave them no other conclusion.

Suresh Garimella serves as the 23rd president of the University of Arizona and University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Contact the opinion editor at opinion@hechingerreport.org.

This story about college costs was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s weekly newsletter.

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