As the Board of Trustees plans to unveil its new financial aid policy next week, students are paying renewed attention to Stanford’s sizable endowment, which ranks third in the country among universities. The University’s endowment grew to $17.1 billion last year, making it larger than the GDPs of roughly 100 nations in the world. And yet for some strange reason, some of its students are still paying nearly $200,000 to attain an education.

The Stanford endowment fund, which is managed by an independent financial firm, is allowed to function under a tax-exempt status on the condition that it serves a “public benefit.” What this public benefit is defined as is becoming an issue of contention: it has drawn the attention of the U.S. Congress to reexamine the tax-exempt status of America’s richest universities.

Stanford’s undergraduate tuition for the 2007-08 school year is a staggering $34,800, an increase of $13,500 since 1997. This is $7,200 above the rate of inflation during that period, according to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle . With approximately 6,600 undergraduate students enrolled this year, the cost to give everyone free tuition would amount to roughly $230 million, still leaving Stanford with over $1.5 billion in interest returned on the endowment from last year. If you added graduate students into the equation, the Stanford endowment would still have had roughly $1.2 billion in growth in the 2007 fiscal year. It seems puzzling to the Editorial Board why a university that could make education absolutely free for all of its students, and still have an annual profit larger than the GDP of some dozen odd countries, does not.

Stanford’s current policy of “need-based” financial aid, while good in theory, is comical in practice. It is hard to do anything but laugh at what is deemed “affordable” by ivory tower Stanford elites crunching mathematical formulas. Making families sacrifice for four years with little financial security because some administrator or government bureaucrat defined that as affordable is downright infuriating when the endowment is calmly pushing $18 billion.

Since last year, Stanford has been playing catch-up to Harvard in terms of its financial aid policy. Harvard leads and Stanford begrudgingly follows. Even now, Stanford administrators are meeting to discuss not only Harvard’s newest increase in financial aid, but also the new Congressional pressure. Why is a university that prides itself on being a world leader and innovator dragging its feet on the question of helping its students afford an education?

As the Board of Trustees prepares to announce its new policy, it seems as though there are three distinct paths the University can take. It can continue to play second fiddle to schools like Harvard, resentfully following the steps being made in financial aid policy for fear of sullying its good name in comparison. Stanford could also wait for a showdown with Congress; as a result, the University will be forced to either spend more money on its students or give up its tax-exempt status. As a third option, Stanford could live up to its image and spearhead a growth in financial aid. It is time for the University to step up to its claims of being an educational leader and innovator and make education free for all students.

Imagine: a free education will attract an even greater applicant pool, pulling in brilliant kids that could never dream of affording a Stanford education, even with the current “need-based” policy. It would force other leading institutions to follow suit, making a world-class education attainable to everyone. Finally, it would satisfy the ultimate goals stated by Director of Financial Aid Karen Cooper in a Jan. 29 Daily article: to ensure that all admitted students can attend, and to make sure that paying for college is not a factor in a student’s decision of which college to attend.

Not all universities will be able to afford such measures, but it would create the pressure for them to do as much as possible, making college more affordable to more people. This isn’t just the “right” thing to do but also the smart thing to do, as it will serve to create a larger population of highly educated human capital in the United States. One of Jane Stanford’s conditions upon the founding of Stanford was that it be free to all. While economic pressure has forced us to forego that lofty ideal in the past, we have finally returned to a point of prosperity where it is no longer an absurd impossibility that would require great sacrifice. Rather, such a comprehensive financial aid system is now an attainable goal, one that would leave us with over a billion dollars in annual endowment growth. When all is said and done, Stanford can either be a follower, a leader or a revolutionary. All that remains to be seen is if there is a difference between what Stanford claims to be and what Stanford truly is.

As the Stanford elites meet to discuss the future of our financial aid policy, now is the time to let them know how you feel. The Editorial Board encourages you to call, email and write our University leaders and share your opinions about the future of financial aid at Stanford.