GET can recover

The editorial regarding the Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) program elaborated on the recent recommendation from the legislative advisory committee [“The case for closing prepaid tuition program,” Opinion, Jan. 20].

With the program funded by new enrollments, ending the program immediately would simply exacerbate the issue at hand. The original cause GET underfunding is simple: the underfunding of higher education. The tremendous increases to tuition over the past five years have required the program to pay out significantly more than it is bringing in. Legislators should definitely consider the unfunded liability present in GET, but must understand that returning funding to higher education will allow the program to recover.

I am a student paying for his education through GET credits. I was fortunate enough my freshman year to receive scholarships that covered most of my tuition. Now by my junior year I am relying heavily on GET in order to cover tuition increases that I have seen in only a short time. My sister will be starting college soon and will be using GET as I have. I would not want to see this program ended and have future students lose this opportunity.

--Tristan Hanon, director of legislative affairs, Associated Students of Washington State University, Pullman