Bennington Banner - Welch to Weigh College Costs

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Bennington Banner - Welch to Weigh College Costs

U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., will convene a roundtable Monday in Washington, D.C. on the issue of the high cost of higher education.

"Maximizing the Use of Endowment Funds and Making Higher Education More Affordable," is set to be held with Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

Welch said the roundtable aims to determine why tuition costs are rising so dramatically. According to Welch's office, tuition has risen at twice the rate of per-capita income in recent years.

"The cost of college is moving well beyond reach of the middle and working classes," Welch said in an interview. "Tuition is increasing much faster than the rate of inflation."

Welch said he was worried efforts to raise money for higher education have been fruitless.

"I've been a strong supporter of financial aid, but I'm concerned that, every time we raise money for financial aid, it gets burned up by increasing costs," Welch said.

Welch said the roundtable will receive information from experts most keenly in tune with cost drivers ?Çö college administrators.

"The goal here is to put the focus on the 'cost' side of higher education," Welch said. "We want to see if we can enlist college administrators to help bring the costs down, because they are on the front lines of this."

The roundtable will consist of three panel discussions covering causes for rising costs, the purpose of college endowments, and an examination of the mandatory payout requirement for private foundations.

"One of the questions that's come up is that of endowments," Welch said. "Some colleges have large endowments ?Çö some into billions of dollars ?Çö and a question that arises is whether enough is used to bring costs down."

Welch said he has been in contact with at least one person scheduled to speak ?Çö University of Vermont President Daniel Fogel. Welch noted that Vermont has one of the priciest public college systems in the country, and said that problem could get worse unless something is changed.

Welch said the issue has become increasingly important given the weakness recently shown in the U.S. economy.

"The credit crisis and subprime mortgage problems are already affecting college loans," he said. "We recently passed some legislation to try to take some of the pressure off, but it is making it harder for students to get loans."

Welch said he is unsure if the panel will lead to any specific legislation, but said he hoped it would.

"I think it will try to achieve two goals," Welch said. "First, to get practical suggestions from college administrators on how to focus them on the problem."

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