By
Rebecca Missel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Arizona house speaker says funds will be there to support
Both the number of college students and the amount of money spent on higher education will continue to rise over the next 10 years, according to a recent survey from the U.S. Department of Education.
In the National Center for Education Statistics' "Projections of Education Statistics to 2010," released on Monday, the number of students enrolled in colleges will grow from 15.1 million to 17.5 million by 2010.
"The increases are primarily demographically driven," said William J. Hussar, economist for the Department of Education and author of the study. "We are in the 'Baby Boom Echo' now, and more people are now hitting college age."
For students now in college, the increased population means greater competition once they enter the job market, but it also means superior funding.
"It will have a positive effect on the future of our nation," said Sarah Youngbauer, a University of Arizona biology sophomore. "Better educated people are going to make our economy better."
While the study focuses on national statistics, Hussar hoped colleges and universities would look at the long-term trends and apply them to the institutions.
"We provide data to let them look at the large level and to help them plan at the smaller level," he said. "We want to give them an idea of what's happening for the entire economy."
The statistics in Arizona have not shown a significant expansion in college-age students, said Randy Richardson, UA undergraduate education interim vice president.
"We have not seen a huge enrollment increase," he said. "We are where we were 10 years ago, but we expect to see growth in the next 10 years."
UA President Peter Likins said the university is trying to accommodate growth in two ways.
"One, we have made investments in our infrastructure that permit us to increase our population," he said. "Two, we are in negotiations with Pima Community College to construct a new campus in northwest Tucson that would also house the Arizona International College."
Along with a larger student population comes larger spending. Even after accounting for inflation, national expenditures are expected to increase by 29 percent during the next 10 years, survey results stated.
The funds the state has been raising for higher education have kept up with student population growth, said Paul Senseman, the press secretary for Arizona House Speaker Jeff Groscost.
"The proposed original use for the tobacco settlement fund was scholarships for higher education," Senseman said.
He added that two November ballot initiatives could re-route the money to hospitals and other social programs instead of scholarships for higher education.
Likins said while funding is a major issue, he is not concerned that the universities will loose money over the next decade.
"The major struggle is to determine whether people want to make a deeper commitment to education," he said. "I believe they will."
Rather than higher education becoming elitist, Likins said he hoped career training - whether it be through a university, community college or professional work - be widely accessible in the future.
"We have to decide how hard will we strive to make education available to everyone," he said.
Another significant finding of the study was the growth of enrollment of women in college. Between 1985 and 1998, the number of women in college increased by 29 percent, from 6.4 million to 8.3 million people.
"It's a cultural thing that started quite a few years ago," Hussar said. "What I'm trying to figure out is why more boys are not interested in school."
Kevin Moloney, a computer science junior, agreed that the increases go beyond population numbers and into societal attitudes.
"Women are smarter than guys, and they have higher goals than just wanting to become a wife," he said. "Maybe guys will start marrying women for their money."
Besides changes for women, Likins said opportunities for all minorities will expand in the coming decade.
"There is no question that the growth is more dramatic for minorities," he said. "The phenomenon will have long-term implications in corporate and political leadership."
