OUR VIEW: Legislature finally takes Higher Ed seriously

    Each year as the Utah legislative session comes to end, along with residents throughout the state, we tally the score to find out whether the Legislature’s actions are up to snuff. During recent years, a constitutionally imposed balanced budget requirement resulted in statewide budget cuts for all sorts of agencies and institutions – not the least of which was higher education.
    Furthermore, when Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, relinquished his senatorial status more than a year ago, Utah higher education lost a major advocate as far as funding was concerned – Bennett, former member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, championed many budgetary victories for USU, as well as for higher education in general.
    The past couple of years have been rocky for state and federally funded Utah programs. Concurrent budget cuts for higher education have led to faculty pay freezes, rising tuition and several other hindrances to the university’s ability to fulfill its best potential. Any talk within the Legislature of another round of cuts might have resulted in a coup of sorts; however, this year’s session seemed to be quieter than recent years.
    Although sex education, abortion waiting periods and laxer gun laws have caused a stir within certain spheres, we’re pleased to report this year that no budget cuts have been imposed on higher ed. In fact, it looks as though faculty members may actually see a slight increase in their pay levels – according to the Utah System of Higher Education, employee compensation was the “top priority for the 2012 Legislative Session.”
    Another hot-button topic that surfaced earlier in the session came after Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, visited USU to meet with various faculty and administrators; it’s likely the senator made similar visits to fellow state institutions. A mission-based performance funding bill was passed to reorganize the method in which state institutions qualify for funding. Essentially, universities will have to tighten the bootstraps and hold themselves to ever-heightening standards – something we as students can certainly stand behind.
    Some faculty consider some of Urquhart’s goals to be unorthodox, or at least far-fetched, but for the most part it seems Urquhart’s valiant attempt to hold higher education accountable should pay off in the long run. As for now, the future of state funding for cutting-edge research as well as enrollment and retention initiatives looks bright. The question yet remains, however; and we already know our student fees will be substantially higher for upcoming semesters. What will our tuition payments look like come fall 2012?