• Aprill Brandon •
• Originally published January 21, 2009 at 7:08 p.m., updated January 21, 2009 at 7:08 p.m.

What a dilemma. A college education is slipping out of the middle-class' grasp, but state-funded universities cry any freeze of tuition would lower the value of a diploma and mean drastic cuts.

However, the idea to freeze tuition for a year sounds good to us. All of us are hurting in some way or another from the failing economy. With that in mind, a year's freeze on tuition surely couldn't hurt our higher education institutions that much, and it would give people a breather to catch up on finances - a little.

Six years ago, these same institutions were facing a $10 billion legislative budget shortfall. That's why universities were granted the ability to adjust tuition rates to make ends meet. Every year since then has seen a rise in tuition rates. Now we have a 53-percent increase in those fees.

While proposed legislation involves a two-year moratorium and thereafter tuition increases based on the cost of living, we are not suggesting that should be the final rule. A one-year freeze on tuition would ease the hardship on many students (and parents) and allow higher education institutions the ability to look at themselves and figure where to cut costs. All of us have to budget wisely to make our dollars count.

Let's not shoot ourselves in the proverbial foot. If tuition reaches such lofty heights - where people could not climb, a drop in attendance would surely be the result. What would that mean? Higher tuition rates still? You can see where this is going?

Let's freeze it for a year and let everybody catch up.

This editorial reflects the views of the Victoria Advocate's editorial board.

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