Call for audit of CPE covered widely in press

My call for State Auditor Crit Luallen to audit the Council on Postsecondary Education after the CPE rubber stamped the outlandish tuition increases at the state's colleges and universities was covered widely in the press yesterday by the Lexington Herald-Leader, the Louisville Courier-Journal, and more broadly by the Gannett News Service.

Here is the relevant section of the Herald-Leader's story:

Also on Thursday, the Family Foundation of Kentucky called for state Auditor Crit Luallen to review the operations of the council because of the public college tuition increases it allows.

Terry Sebastian, a spokesman for Luallen's office, said that the office received the Family Foundation's request on Thursday afternoon.

"Once we've had a chance to thoroughly review it, we will make our decision," he said.

Martin Cothran, a senior policy analyst with the Family Foundation, said in a letter requesting the audit that the council's action in approving tuition increases "that, in some cases, are almost three times the rate of inflation, raises the serious question of whether the CPE is adequately doing its job in keeping higher education affordable for Kentuckians."

Robert King, president of the CPE, which coordinates the activities of the state's public universities, said that he had offered to discuss the council's reasoning with Cothran.

"I offered ... to take him through all the data we consider," King said. "But if Crit Luallen or her staff wants to examine what we looked at or how we made our decision, we have nothing to hide."

I'm sure Robert King is a very nice gentleman and I plan to take him up on his offer--and hope to share some things with him as well.