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President Bob Kustra echoes philosophy of Robin Hood
Kim King, Journalist
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NIK BJURSTROM/THE ARBITER Tony Fernandez, LCSC Provo, looks over notes with Tracie Bent before the State Board of Education Meeting.
The Idaho State Board of Education met Monday at the Stueckle Sky Center to propose a new vision statement with updated goals and objectives. The current vision statement is summarized in four words – A well-educated Idaho.
Interim Executive Officer Mike Rush also presented statistics comparing college graduation rates, both locally and nationally.
He said only 66 percent of first year students attending four year colleges returned for their sophomore year in 2008, ranking Idaho as the lowest performing state.
President Bob Kustra said statistics work well for general purposes but can not be assumed to be accurate on all levels.
“Numbers are deceiving,” Kustra said. “This data is totally unrealistic when it leaves many students unaccounted for.”
He cited the example of a student moving from a community college after the first or second year to complete their degree at a university.
A comparison of the U. S. with other countries shows a national need of four million graduating students with associate or bachelors degrees by the year 2020 to become the most educated in the world.
Kustra said we would probably never be able to compete with China and other countries because of budget and other constraints.
Idaho also ranked low in state need-based grant dollars per undergraduate student. Idaho is listed at $17 compared to Washington’s $756 for the year 2007-2008.
“What do we do?” Kustra said. “We take from those who can afford it and redistribute to those who need it. We do it quietly as public institutions and without fanfare.”
Young people from the lowest income nationally account for seven percent of college graduates compared to 60 percent from high income families.
Kustra remains focused on attracting new students while acknowledging the shortage of available scholarships and the need to create more funding.
“If we increase tuition by double digits, it must be returned to need-based students,” he said.
The suggestion of a double digit increase is new and would impact every student at Boise State.
ASBSU President Trevor Grigg is researching and planning ways to avoid any increase in student tuition and fees. He is meeting with other student presidents from around the state this week to brainstorm new ideas.
“Student activities will be my focus,” Grigg said. “There should be less staff members in areas that do not benefit the majority of students. Raising tuition is not the answer.”
Do you think raising tuition is the answer to BSU's problems?
- Absolutely not! (33%, 17 Votes)
- It should really be a last resort. (27%, 14 Votes)
- The raise in tuition should be followed with more to offer us. (14%, 7 Votes)
- Yes, but not the only solution. (12%, 6 Votes)
- Yes. (2%, 1 Votes)
- Dont care. (12%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 51
Robin Hood? Or the benevolent Barack? I'm pretty sure he's in on the whole redistribution of wealth thing. By the way, can anyone tell me when the original distribution of wealth was, because I think I missed it. I mean, if there is a Redistribution, there had to be an original distribution, right? Maybe Karl, Dick, and King George all met at Camp David and decided what everyone in America would be paid…and then made it happen. I can't believe I missed that.
i cant believe that knowbody has picked up on this story, the quotes of Kustra are truly shocking. I think Marx describes it much better than robin hood
The cost of higher education is constantly rising. This means that more of our young populations will not be able to afford college. Wealth and academic aptitude are completely unrelated. We need to find a way to make college affordable for all. You can debate all you want about universal health care, ect. But universal access to higher education should be a no brainier. For those who can afford it, it can be their option whether or not they receive that education, but for those who cannot afford it, they do not have a choice. I'm tired of this normative debate over the integrity of one's personal. We should all step up to the plate and provide for a more equitable society. A penny spent on education, is a penny invested in the future of our nation.
[...] November 19, 2009 Many people all over the country have adopted the president’s motto of “change” or “change we can believe in.” I am by no means opposed to mixing things up here and there, but some of the ways this whole “change” idea has trickled down from Washington are nowhere close to change that I can believe in. A recent article in the Boise State University student newspaper, The Arbiter, had the president of the university, Bob Kustra, spouting some interesting redistribution of wealth ideas. Here is the link to the article through the university newspaper’s website—>robin hood. [...]
Good Afternoon!!! arbiteronline.com is one of the best resourceful websites of its kind. I take advantage of reading it every day. Keep it that way.