Even repugnant ideas can have value. Look at the state House idea to cap UNC student growth at 1 percent next academic year.
Our initial reaction is to declare that the American Dream is dead. A cap could deny thousands of students their chance at the most important credential on a 21st-century resume.
Considering how clumsy the General Assembly can be, such a cap probably would be harmful to many people.
There is another way of looking at a cap, however, and the key word would be "efficiency." Were the state's education hierarchy -- the State Board of Education, the State Board of Community Colleges and the UNC Board of Governors -- to expand some things they are already doing, then a restraint on UNC student growth could be a winning proposition for all involved.
We are not endorsing a hard cap. A flexible policy seeking to restrain some growth would be better. And such a policy could actually lead to more students earning their university degrees.
The best way to restrain expensive growth on the UNC campuses is to educate more freshmen and sophomores elsewhere. We can start in the high schools.
It costs a fraction of the price to teach Advanced Placement statistics or American history to a high-school junior than the same 100-level courses to a college freshman. The facilities are less expensive and the teachers often are, too. When students do well enough in an AP course, they gain college credit. Thus, many of the best students show up for their first years already owning credits toward their degrees.
The same can be said for the community colleges. Many students have discovered that they can take core courses at the local two-year institution for much less than in Boone or Chapel Hill. They can live at home, too, then transfer to a four-year institution and graduate with a lot less debt than other students.
At the university level, administrators must be urging students to both arrive with credits in hand and then to stay on an accelerated path to graduation. The intent is to move students through the system more quickly. That frees space for other students to come in behind them. Facilities and faculties would not need to be expanded as rapidly but more people would be educated.
There's one hitch. The legislature needs to give the public schools and the community colleges the resources to do their share of these efforts. And right now the legislature is looking only to cut spending, not become more efficient and effective.
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