Drumroll please.
Arizona's Board of Regents is once again thinking about how to screw students of money.
I am so shocked. Just floored.
However will they do it this time?
Not tuition hikes, but that would have been an excellent guess. No, it's scholarships they're after this time. According to The Arizona Republic, a task force from ABOR is coming to “discuss financial-aid ideas and is expected to offer recommendations to the full board in the spring.”
These ideas include penalizing students for dropping classes after the semester has already started, capping credits covered by scholarships, and rewarding students with more money if they get better grades.
There are two reasons this reevaluation of scholarships is total bull honkey.
One, this address the symptoms and not the problem. According to the article, Arizona ranks 43rd in spending on education, yet tuition has soared past the national average. Arizona does not need to restrict spending on scholarships, the state Legislature needs to mandate a certain amount of money spent on education and cap, not credit hours, but tuition hikes.
The other issue is that these changes will not help students. In fact, they will hurt graduation rates, job opportunities after graduation and discourage students from challenging themselves by double majoring or taking difficult courses.
These are not innovative solutions, and they will not solve any of Arizona's students' money woes.
Punishing students for dropping classes will not encourage them to work harder, it will hurt graduation rates.
One of the best ways to get out of a class that is too challenging or that the student is not prepared for is to drop it, but take away that option and threaten students with financial penalties and watch the failure rates skyrocket.
ASU's graduation rate already pales in comparison to other schools with similar tuition rates.
According to collegeresults.org, the University of California Berkeley's tuition is about $7,000 a semester, as of 2009. Their four-year graduation rate is 66 percent. Florida State University, at almost $4,000 a semester, is at 47 percent. ASU boasts a measly 29 percent.
If ABOR decides to cap credits — according to The Republic's article the proposed number is 120 hours — that would discourage students from pursuing double majors, minors, or early Master's programs, all of which require more credit hours.
Last time I checked, discouraging students from challenging themselves was not part of the university's job. Most students are experts at that all on their own, and those students who want to double major in subjects with limited class overlap may not be able to afford that goal if ABOR's plans are put into effect.
And giving students money for good grades may encourage some students to work harder, but will also deter students from taking difficult classes or majoring in difficult subjects because they will get more money for better grades.
These so-called solutions are nothing more than dancing around the real issues of education in Arizona. It is time for the legislature and the Board of Regents to realize that this type of “reform” is not fulfilling Arizona's constitutional mandate of making education as nearly free as possible.
Messing around with scholarships is just one more way students are going to get screwed out of their money.
Reach the columnist at omcquarr@asu.edu
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