The Claremore Progress has a story regarding the sharp raise in tuition costs at Oklahoma colleges and universities since tuition-setting power was ceded by the Legislature to the Regents. As I have previously noted, this is a huge problem. The Legislature voted last session to take that power back, but Gov. Henry vetoed it.

Of particular note in the Progress article, Tad Jones is calling for a review of tuition prices. How bad is it?

Rogers State University President Joe Wiley, speaking at a recent Rotary meeting, said tuition at Rogers State University in 2002-2003 was $77.20 per credit hour. Today tuition is around $118 per credit hour.

One word comes to my mind: Yikes!

The story also states:

However, a spokesperson for the Regents noted those increases occurred during a downturn that forced state lawmakers to slash state spending by hundreds of millions of dollars, including college funding cuts.

Universities, however, operate in a surreal realm where, though funding is cut, new programs and building plans are not postponed or cancelled. Buildings must go up! Libraries must be built so they can be named for our benefactors in the State Senate! We must built monuments to ourselves, and the students shall pay! We are educating!

All told:

According to the Regents, the average Oklahoma student pays $168 per credit hour in resident undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees at state research universities, $115 per credit hour at regional universities and almost $75 per credit hour at community colleges.

More and more, students (and parents) are having to take on massive amounts of debt to attain an education. And I am not opposed to students paying for their educations. However, I am opposed to unrestained raises in the cost of education. Allowing the Regents to set tuition is letting the fox guard the henhouse, and it must be stopped.