Illinois institutes tuition guarantees

State colleges and universities in almost every part of the country are getting ready to impose their stiffest tuition and fee increases in a decade.

Illinois is no different in that regard. Tuition in the Land of Lincoln will increase 5 percent at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign and an average of 14 percent for all the public universities, news agencies in that state report.

But Illinois differs in one major area. Gov. Rod Blagojevich recently signed a law that freezes tuition rates for students from the time they enter school until graduation.

That means, although they're having to eat the big tuition increases this year, they won't have to worry about another increase for four consecutive years, or five years for various specialized fields that require extra training. It's called the Truth in Tuition law.

With the skyrocketing costs of education, parents will appreciate knowing what to expect, and it will help them budget the cost of their children's entire education. It will take out the guesswork for students who are trying to put themselves through college and are forced to decide how many classes they can take versus how many hours they have to work each semester.

Blagojevich has been criticized for putting a strain on state university budgets with this law. While lawmakers there have been diligent in protecting the K-12 education budget as best possible, they've allowed higher education to take hit after hit. The same is true in other states across the nation.

As a result, a college education is becoming increasingly out of reach in an era when employment ads casually mention a college degree as a requirement. There's a growing expectation that higher education should be as much of a person's educational life as finishing kindergarten.

But the Illinois governor answers his critics by saying the state will deal with the impact of his law as it comes and that the law is fluid enough to allow for that. He also signed into law an accompanying measure that makes universities more accountable for how they spend their money.

Smart move, because now both sides -- the institutions and lawmakers -- will know exactly where the money is going and have a better idea of what funding needs are there.

The Truth in Tuition law also is a strong motivator for students to take full class loads, study in the summer and do whatever else it takes to get out of school in four years.

It will be interesting to watch over the next several semesters and see how this plays out for Illinois. If the program is a success, it is at least something for Missouri's public colleges and universities to consider.