By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
There is a tangible distrust between the legislators and educators in this state — if not a trace of seething contempt — so when the Assembly’s Higher Education Committee green-lights a bill to freeze tuition at our state colleges, it is not met with mirth by those in the academic industrial complex.
It is easy to appreciate why Assemblyman Joe Cryan has been eager to shepherd this bill into law, especially if you are a college student or endure one in your household. Tuition has risen 400 percent in a generation, the amount of student loan debt is $1.2 trillion nationally, and New Jersey is among the most expensive places to earn a four-year degree.
Moreover, appropriations for higher education have fallen 17 percent in the last seven years here, which is consistent with the national trend, but good luck getting educators to agree that the best fix is to lock the fees for in-state undergrads over nine semesters, as the A-2807 proposes.
More>>
