The SunBreak » higher education

Why Johnny Can’t Afford a Washington State College Degree

Michael van Baker — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 21:55:36 +0000

Many parents, looking at tuition costs that resemble home mortgages, might want to punch these experts in the mouth. Is it really so hard to imagine that students from Washington's less wealthy counties might hesitate at the prospect of, three months out of high school, signing on to a four-year hitch that will leave them $40,000 in debt?

Ask an Economist: What’s the Deal with College Tuition?

Michael van Baker — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:00:23 +0000

I've written before about what I think could be called, fairly, the runaway costs of higher education. But what, I wondered, does an economics professor think of this trend? On the one hand, viewed with an economist's famously dispassionate eye, perhaps we're simply seeing the true value of higher education set. On the other, as a professor of economics, there would be some skin in the game. Is this what's best for students? For society?

Op-Ed: At the University of Washington, the Other Shoe Drops

Guest Contributor — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 17:48:20 +0000

However, while endeavors like The Center for Performance Studies point to the entrepreneurship and resilience of our administration and faculty, the hard truth remains that the concept of an affordable, accessible and high quality university education here in Washington is in a precarious state. Quality in higher education has always centered on a single idea: a valued professoriat in regular contact with students.

Bow Down to the University of Washington’s Budget Woes

Michael van Baker — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:44:56 +0000

The great cry of outrage at the University of Washington's acceptance of higher-paying out-of-state students over in-state applicants gets an economic reality check: After years of declining public support, the UW has been effectively transitioning toward becoming a prestigious private school that seeks the best students nationally and internationally. It will be a school, you suspect, that Tim Eyman would not get into. But where, then, will state students go?