College dropout? Enrollment cap damages chances for future students

The North Carolina House proposed an education budget plan that severely limits college access to state schools.

The N.C. legislature must  choose between two radical education plans: the Senate’s, which cuts the UNC system budget by $54 million; or the House’s, which cuts the budget by $175 million.

The Senate plan clearly favors higher-level education.

With fewer cuts to the UNC system, the universities will still be able to accept a reasonable number of applicants and suffer fewer cutbacks in the classrooms. The House plan, on the other hand, is foreboding.

On top of the major budget cut, it would also cap the system’s enrollment growth at 1 percent, a trend that could have damaging future consequences.

The House proposal gives more money to K-12 educators but equates to chopping 1,700 positions and 2,200 students in the UNC system beginning in 2011.

While cuts are inevitable, the House plan takes it a step further; it will ultimately deny a North Carolina university education to qualified students.

The fewer people who are educated, the fewer potential employees will emerge in coming years — a precedent to avoid as the nation claws its way back toward a temperate economic climate.

Budget cuts forced UNC-CH to offer fewer courses, but most importantly, students do earn degrees and enter the workforce boasting the potential for a higher starting salary.

The House plan, on the other hand, outrightly denies students college access – an option with more damaging, long-term repercussions than program cuts.

This week, House members are attempting to drum up support for their plan as they move into a round of conferences with the Senate.

North Carolina will take a collective step backward if it endorses a plan denying future leaders a college education.