State universities are central to Iowa's education system. We prize our universities. State universities are where breakthroughs in technology are made, where remedies to the state's problems are developed and where the vast majority of those in Iowa's workforce are trained. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. In fairness to the legislators, the compromised appropriation for 2001 is still an increase over this year's allocation.
Legislators can say that it's time for universities to tighten their belts and deal with less money.
But universities won't cut out programs or departments. They'll raise tuition. And if tuition is raised, students are going to see serious problems. Not as many Iowa kids will be able to go to the universities, and they'll turn more and more to community colleges and technical schools, where they can get a much cheaper education. There's nothing wrong with those schools, but a major shift to them will kill the universities.