Cap on Tuition No Good! Full Funding now

A few days ago before the Maryland General Assembly started its 2007 I sent a email to my political represenatives about establishing a higher education trust fund with the purpose for providing expense-free education to any maryland high school student who is accepted into any college in the University System of Maryland. Obviously they rather prefer a tuition cap.

The bill that Rosapepe plans to sponsor would cap yearly tuition increases at 4 percent and require the governor to take active steps toward meeting funding standards for public universities like they have for other educational institutions, Rosapepe said.

But there will be a higher education funding commission.

But because a newly formed commission on higher education funding won't examine higher education issues until after the legislative session ends in March, bills like Rosapepe's may not come to a vote. State Sen. Patrick Hogan (D-Montgomery) said most action on bills will hopefully wait until the commission finishes its work.

The commission will meet "aggressively" after the legislative session, Hogan said, and it will consider higher education proposals to be voted on next year. Hogan proposed the commission because state funding "up until now it's been a roller coaster," he said.

Don't hold your breath for any real solutions from this commission.