Tuition wars coming

THE tuition wars are coming. Over the next few weeks, Washington residents will have to think hard about what they are willing to pay to maintain quality and access at institutions of higher learning.

Demand for higher education has never been higher. Tuition should increase more than the state Senate proposed: 7 percent annually for four-year institutions and 5 percent for community colleges.

No one suggests that cavalierly. Help for middle- and low-income students will be increased.

But a sizable increase in tuition may be the only way to avoid ridiculously large class sizes or doors closed to students seeking an education in their home state.

Both the House and Senate budgets have many moving parts, but the Senate did a better job in overall funding for higher education, cutting $351 million after adding money from proposed tuition hikes. The House's net cut, after a larger tuition spike of 10 and 7 percent annually, for four-year and two-year colleges respectively, is $453 million.

The House, oddly, tells institutions to find efficiencies and assumes access levels similar to today. That is not practical considering the size of the cut.

Any institution can find cheaper ways to do business. But do we as a state really want so many classes to jump from 200 to 400 students or doors slammed on our own residents?

The $9 billion shortfall forces the state into this quandary. Tuition is going to have to climb higher than 7 percent.