Let’s face it. The U is crowded. Too crowded. Just try finding a parking spot at 9:30 a.m. on a Monday. It’s practically impossible. Have you ever been to an E lot?

It’s no surprise there are so many people attending school here right now. Whenever the economy starts to sour, people head back to school to get that little extra bit of education that will give them the edge in a tough job market. And who can blame them?

The effects of a poor economy are felt on every level of our community and create an interesting problem for higher education.

The problem is this: Students paying in-state tuition only pay for one-third of the cost of their education. The rest of the bill is picked up by the state. What if the state doesn’t have the money?

Today the Board of Regents is meeting to discuss that problem. One of the things they are expected to consider is an enrollment cap at the U.

The number of students that can enter school each fall would be limited to the number of students that graduate in the proceeding spring and summer semesters.

This is a good idea.

An enrollment cap shouldn’t be seen as a way to deny people a college education. There are many other schools in the state that don’t have enrollment caps, and students who want to stay in-state could always attend one of them.

However, the enrollment cap would raise the bar for students admitted to the U. By improving the quality of the student body, the U could make a degree from this school more meaningful. An enrollment cap would also provide relief to departments that are underfunded and overcrowded. Maybe professors would even be able to start printing copies of their syllabuses for students again.

The Board of Regents shouldn’t make the enrollment cap a permanent policy at the U. When the economy isn’t in such dire conditions, the student population should be allowed to expand.

For now, however, it would be best to tighten admission standards so that departments don’t have to tighten their belts quite as much.