More Funding for Faculty Requested
Balancing the needs of 23,000 students, 2,600 faculty members and staff and 43 departments in seven colleges, President Kermit L. Hall presented his 2004 budget proposal to the Board of Regents in Salt Lake City in September.
At the top of the budget list was a request for more compensation for Utah State University employees, who haven’t received a raise in three years. Before this salary freeze they were already behind their peers in average salaries. According to the report, studies show that the salaries of USU faculty members are anywhere between 17 and 25 percent below that of faculty at peer institutions.
“We’re not treading water; we are sinking here,” President Hall said in reference to the salary gap between USU employees and those at peer institutions. “We find ourselves often losing our first choice candidates to both industry and peer institutions because of salary issues.”
Twenty faculty members were lost last year alone and approximately 80 were lost over the last three years. The employee compensation issue was first priority on the budget request, with $4.2 million in ongoing funds requested for salary increases. A total of $2.2 million was also requested to help cover the costs of medical and dental insurance, which have been rising at a steady rate of 15 percent every year.
The budget request also pointed out that this salary gap increases the student-to-faculty ratio which is the highest in the state and also “alarmingly” higher than at other Research I institutions.
“These are not just statistics,” President Hall said. “Those troubling numbers translate directly into how much personal attention we give each of our students.”
If the proposed budget were met it would improve the attention each student gets in the classroom, labs, counseling services, advising and financial aid lines as well, President Hall said.
The issue of unfunded growth was also a top priority on this year’s budget proposal. As the university has grown over the years, attracting more and more students as well as developing new programs, it hasn’t been receiving the necessary increase in funds to support that growth, President Hall said. The university is having to cut back on growth because of the lack of funding, he said in the report.
This unfunded growth also helps contribute to the high student-to-faculty ratio. The students intervened in the past with Second Tier tuition to help fund the growing university and pay for more faculty members, but the problem must eventually be addressed at the source, President Hall said. He asked for $3.3 million in ongoing funds to remedy this situation.
In addition to unfunded growth, the report stated many departments on campus do not receive the funding necessary to provide them with operating budgets. This is especially problematic for those departments which rely on the use of specialized equipment. A total of $1 million in ongoing funds was requested to provide these departments with operating budgets.
Other issues addressed dealt with fuel and power costs and maintenance problems. As a result of inadequate funding over the last three years, the university has been unable to pay for increased fuel and energy costs, President Hall said.
The budget proposal asked for enough money to pay the current deficit with enough left over to pay for fuel and power costs this year. According to the report, if the debt isn’t paid off soon, by next year it could get as high as $30 million. But right this debt could be paid off now with a little over $5 million, President Hall said. He also asked for approximately $2 million in ongoing funds to pay for all the fuel and power that will be used this year.
Besides the power and fuel issue, President Hall also asked for increased funds to cover the maintenance of new buildings on campus and the disposal of solid waste. The university hasn’t received enough funding to adequately provide maintenance for the two newest buildings on campus, the Engineering Classroom building and Edith Bowen Elementary School, President Hall said.
“If we don’t maintain these buildings … the new stuff becomes old stuff fast,” he said.
Other issues addressed in the budget proposal included: equal salaries for male and female employees, more financial aid, additional funding for libraries and an improved nursing program. Also requested was money for several projects taking place on campus, ranging from studies on water usage and conservation to augmented K-12 teacher preparation programs.
All of these proposed budget increases go along with the mission statement and goals that the university has as a Research I institution, the report said. President Hall said that since Research I institutions have to act differently than other universities, doing more research activity and contributing more to their local economies, they should be funded differently as well. He points out that research conducted at USU had a $700 million impact on Utah’s economy last year, and the university should receive funding that reflects that contribution.
The results of the budget proposal will be announced by the Board of Regents on Oct. 31.
-sjeppesen@cc.usu.edu