IN A letter discussing education, Thomas Jefferson wrote, "There is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents..." It is upon these principles that the University was founded. Unfortunately, the Virginia General Assembly has been hard at work trying to subvert them. Just over two weeks ago, the House of Delegates and State Senate passed SB 542, which changes the rules for in-state tuition at Virginia state schools. In includes, inter alia, a provision that all in-state students at institutions of higher education in Virginia who complete at least 125 percent of credits required for a degree be fined a "surcharge" as of this August -- just in time for next semester. This bill constitutes nothing less than an attempt by government to curtail academic freedom, expropriate tax revenue from those least able to pay, and constrain excellence for the sake of continued mediocrity.
This bill, like so many other flawed government ideas, started out well-intentioned . Senate Majority Leader Walter Stosch, R-Glen Allen, wanted to prevent freeloading Virginians from taking more than five years to graduate from college. To this effect, he granted students the right to appeal for exemptions to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia on the basis of illness and military service. While Stosch did magnanimously waive credit earned in high school such as Advanced or any other legitimate reason, he erred in basing this formulation upon credit hours. Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and college-level credits from the 125 percent "credit hour threshold," he ignores the real impacts of this bill upon undergraduate students.
Let's take an average Universitystudent. He needs to obtain at least 120 credits to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Let's further assume he did not enter with any credits from high school and that he is financially limited so that he had to take out loans to pay for college. Stosch would like to ensure that he graduates within five years and does not continue taking classes at the expense of the Virginian taxpayer for perpetuity.
However, if the student were to take 15 credits a semester for 10 semesters (5 years), he would have a total of 150 credits. If he were to take just one more a class for one of those 10 semesters, he would get hit with about a $672 fine, according to the Department of Planning and Budget's calculations. Suppose the student were particularly ambitious and took 18 credit hours per semester for 10 semesters. This would leave him with a total of 180 credit hours and $6,720 owed to the Virginia General Assembly. This is patently unfair.Stosch's bill is not hurting lazy students -- if John took the minimum 12 credits per semester for 10 semesters he would have exactly 120 credits -- it takes money out of the pockets of those who pursue the most academically rigorous course loads. By heaping this fee on in-state students, many of whom require financial aid, students only watch their debt mount for no other reason than pushing themselves to succeed at school.
Not only does this bill punish the most talented (and, therefore, indirectly encourage mediocrity), but it has two hidden motives as well. The first is subverting the autonomy of Virginia state schools. This is a clear-cut case of the government micromanaging the internal policies of universities; this is no different from when judges micromanage federal prisons. It is the job of the General Assembly to set the rules of the game, to give direction to state universities and to provide funding. Further government intervention can only be justified under the most extreme of circumstances, such as forced desegregation.
It is not the job of the government to decide how many credit hours are justified and how many ought to be penalized. This leads directly to the second hidden motive, which is increasing taxes. It is surprising that a Republican, and a Virginia Republican no less, is advocating a tax hike. In order to soothe his soul, Stosch has called his tax a "surcharge," but the students (and voters) of Virginia will not be so easily fooled. Given the pathetic state of infrastructure in Virginia, particularly roads, I have little faith that the General Assembly will do anything useful with its tax revenue taken from those earning little to no income and are heavily in debt.
SB 542 is a travesty that unfairly takes aim at students in order to increase the General Assembly's power and coffers. It is entirely antithetical to Thomas Jefferson's ideals by punishing those who take the most difficult course loads. There is a glimmer of hope that Gov. Tim Kaine could still veto the bill, but given how quickly and easily it passed the General Assembly, that outcome does not look likely.
Josh Levy's column usually appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at jlevy@cavalierdaily.com.
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