As bad as Texas Southern University’s chronic problems are, they can be resolved through a combination of forceful leadership and common sense. However, intractable local and state political forces prevent TSU’s problems from being addressed effectively. Consequently, it is somehow appropriate that the first act of the new board of trustees of TSU to address TSU’s financial problems is taken against the folks least capable of resolving those problems — i.e., the students:
Texas Southern University’s regents approved a new round of tuition increases Wednesday, with students paying 8 percent more at the historically black institution this fall. [. . .]
The tuition hike follows a 22 percent increase last year. The university had tried in previous years to hold off increases because of the potential hardship for students, many of whom are working adults or recent high school graduates from low-income families.
Regents said they voted reluctantly for the tuition increase, but the university’s financial problems required the additional revenue.
TSU’s tuition is now higher than Houston’s other open-admissions university, the University of Houston Downtown Campus, which does a better job of educating its students than TSU.
I put the over/under for the next scandal at TSU at three years.
I just wish that someone who represents that district starts to care more about the facts that the graduation rates are unacceptably low and people keep embezzling than the fact that the state wants to take away some autonomy. Has Prairie View done better or worse since joining the A & M System? And has it lost any of its character? I’m going to stop now before I write something I really regret. This whole thing makes me sick.