DNews - HIS VIEW: Commuter bus gives incalculable value to taxpayer
Nils Peterson
Friday, March 30, 2007 - Page Updated at 11:52:00 AM
I was pleased to see a temporary reprieve (Daily News, March 22) after
the University of Idaho proposed cutting its financial support for the
Wheatland Express bus, arguing it cannot justify spending taxpayer
money on this service. As an Idaho taxpayer, I think the bus is a cost-
effective way to meet the university's goals.
More than 20 years ago, University of Idaho and Washington State
University administrators recognized both universities could better
achieve their goals of excellence by building programs that
complemented one another. They changed their academic calendars and
course schedules to facilitate offering a small number of cross-listed
classes to begin to fulfill this vision. Essential to this was a means
of transportation so students could attend their classes. The
Wheatland bus was born.
In 2006-2007 there were 172 courses offered by WSU to UI students and
more than 380 UI enrollments in these courses. Forty-five percent of
the offerings are graduate courses. How much would it cost the Idaho
taxpayer if the University of Idaho had to teach these courses?
UI and WSU now have one joint-degree program (food science and human
nutrition) and another joint-degree program in the works (a doctorate
in statistics). In addition, a number of degree programs have come to
rely on the courses taught on the other campus.
Another example of cooperation is in foreign languages. Neither
university could possibly cover all of even the most significant
languages. The cooperation between the two institutions means that UI
students have access to excellent programs in Italian, Russian and
Chinese. How much would it cost the taxpayer for UI to create its own
programs in these languages?
How many Idaho students choose to attend the University of Idaho
because of the additional courses it teaches through Washington State
University? For the Idaho taxpayer, this means keeping our talented
students in Idaho.
The commuter bus has become essential for research. There are many
graduate students whose research depends on the collaboration and
equipment found at both universities. I know of one UI engineering
student who travels to WSU almost daily to use a piece of essential
equipment. How much would it cost the taxpayer to have all of the
equipment at UI?
Collaborative research between UI and WSU has grown. Recently,
biologists at the UI and WSU were jointly awarded a National Science
Foundation grant in excess of $1 million. UI receives more than
$100,000 in overhead fees from this grant. The grant was facilitated
by the bus, allowing the faculty and their students to meet regularly
in Moscow to write the grant.
Undergraduates also are involved in research on both campuses. The
overhead fees from this grant alone are sufficient to fund the bus.
>From research collaborations shared seminar programs have emerged. The
seminar programs for the Center for Reproductive Biology and the
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences are shared between the two
universities. What is the value of these exchanges to the university
community?
The bus facilitates access for UI graduate students to research
expertise not available on the UI campus; without this access, UI
would either lose graduate students and hence have a diminished and
smaller graduate program, or would have to hire additional faculty to
provide the expertise. Either of these outcomes would result in a loss
to Idaho.
The presence of bus service in Moscow, Pullman, and between the two
cities also is a recruiting tool for undergraduate and graduate
students as well as faculty. The value of this cannot be measured.
I do not believe the importance of the commuter bus can be measured
simply by counting the students and the number of cross-listed
classes. You can read about how it is a vibrant link between two
otherwise isolated university communities at SaveTheBus.org. WSU
recognizes the importance of this link and funds the bus system from
its parking budget.
The University of Idaho has a responsibility to taxpayers and to its
"Sustainable Idaho" commitments to continue to fund the bus system as
a cost-effective way to advance its research and teaching missions.
The commuter bus is an outstanding value for a small amount of
taxpayer money.
Nils Peterson lives is Moscow and has been riding and observing the
bus since 1993.