Question: Is a voucher system a good idea in higher education? This regards allocation of state funding for higher education. Should all university students from a state, regardless of where they attend, receive $2,000 scholarships, or should that money instead go to fund the state's own institutions?\n\nSuch an idea is under consideration in Missouri and Colorado, among other states.

Answer: In some ways, we already have a sort of voucher system for higher education.  Think about how Pell Grants work.  They are available to the student, to be applied, regardless of where the student attends.\n\nI think the only question is whether states ought to follow the federal model.  My view is that it does seem to work fairly well, but I think there are other issues below the surface.\n\nState budgets spend a great deal for higher educational institutions, many of which behave as though they are accountable to no one.  This proposed change is a way for states to force universities to be financially accountable.    But, if this expense is set aside,\n\nEffectively what you end up with is a nation full of private universities.  Private colleges from Harvard to Seton Hall have provided excellent education in this country for years, and there's no reason to think they can't continue.  Further, schools that are freed from the onus of state planning often thrive.  But some will surely decline, and in those cases, the state governments will be left with the decision of whether to let them die or to bail them out.  In the end, these bailouts may end up being more costly than any structure that now exists, so states would need to decide how committed they are to this new approach.\n\nIn the end, I think it may be a wonderful experiment, and I'm anxious to observe while one or two states experiment with it.  If it were my state, however, I'd proceed cautiously, as there are many unknowns on the horizon, and I'd rather watch someone else and learn from their mistakes first.
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