Letter: Hold colleges accountable for rising costs

In response to Rep. Ed DeLaney’s article in Forefront, college tuition both in Indiana and across the nation continues to rise, forcing students to continue to incur higher debt loads to meet the rising costs [“Rep. Ed DeLaney: Need an idea? Let’s lower college tuition for all,” Jan. 14]. Falling enrollment adds to the cost for institutions of higher learning to operate and adequately serve their student populations.

So, his facts are correct, but his hypothesis lacks the “big idea” of holding universities and colleges accountable for their rising costs. Accountability would be a great “idea” for our Legislature to implement.

Using more public funds toward higher education is not a reform-minded proposition; it’s adding to the existing funding model which is outdated.

Let’s use Purdue University’s operating model for addressing tuition. A freeze for the last 10 years! And Purdue’s academic reputation continues to grow and prosper under this model, not to mention being named a “best value” by Forbes. Why are the other state-funded universities not being held accountable for controlling their costs?

Now there is an “idea” that Mr. DeLaney and his colleagues should adopt.

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Mark Hedegard