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February 2, 2006
Dear Friends:
Governor Ehrlich’s budget contains a 14.5% ($172
million) increase in funding for the state’s thirteen
higher education colleges and universities; however,
coming after three years of huge cuts in state aid to
higher education, the increased funding does little to
take the sting out of the double-digit tuition upsurge
the previous cuts caused.
>From 2002 to 2004, Governor Ehrlich slashed state
funding for higher education by $143 million, sending
college tuitions soaring. Before he made these
unprecedented cuts to higher education, tuition
increases had been kept to 4% annually. In the fall of
2002, before the budget cuts, annual tuition at College
Park was $4,572. Last semester, tuition rose to $6,566,
a 44% increase. Morgan State University tuition and
mandatory fees for in-state undergraduate students
increased 26.5% since the Fall of 2002.
The increase in higher education funds does not roll
back the tuition increases. All it does is keep the
tuition jump for the 2006-2007 academic year to no more
than 4.5%.
I am not usually a person who sees the glass as half
empty; however, I must confess that I am deeply
concerned. Huge tuitions at state institutions of higher
education effectively shut the college door in the faces
of thousands of students from low and middle-income
homes, often limiting the degree to which young people
can realize their potentials. According to the U.S.
Census Bureau, people with a Bachelor’s degree earn
almost twice as much as those with only a high school
diploma.
In 2004, Maryland remained one of the best-educated
states in the nation, where 35.2% of adults held at
least a bachelor’s degree. The cost of attending one of
Maryland’s institutions of higher learning has always
been relatively affordable. As the cost continues to
rise, fewer Marylanders will be able to attend college.
I see that as unforgivable. The quality of our workforce
has a direct impact on the health of our economy. To
make attending college unaffordable for thousands of
students is to shortchange them and the state’s economic
health.
Please do not hesitate to contact me on this or any
other legislative issue of concern to you. As always, I
encourage and welcome your input.
Sincerely,
The Honorable Ann Marie Doory
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