Our opinion: Regents tie universities’ successes to Montana economy

Montana’s colleges and universities are in a Catch-22. So are their students, faculty, administrators and governing boards and bodies.

The cost of running the institutions goes up almost daily. The Legislature cannot fully attend to the increasing costs. Students are asked to pay more and more tuition to keep the colleges afloat. Montana ranks near the bottom of the nation in per-capita income and high-paying jobs are scarce. The state’s best and brightest students frequently leave Montana after graduation — for the high-paying jobs needed to pay their tuition loans. The state does not benefit from its investment in those students, so the tuition bill goes up again Š and so on. But those are symptoms — not the core — of the conundrum.

Montana’s university regents hit the nail on the head last week when they set three broad goals for the state’s colleges — goals with a shot at interrupting the dizzying cycle of rising costs, rising tuition, rising costs, etc.

The universities, regents agreed, should concentrate on improving the state’s economy, making the system more efficient and raising the educational level of Montanans.

The keystone in the regents’ new direction is improvement of the state’s economy. It is an ideal that the universities can affect and that will cure some of their existing ills.

Full Story: http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2005/10/12/opinions/01tuitionedit.txt