Regents approve 2003-04 budget, tuition hikes
The Board of Regents has approved the 2003-04 budget request for higher education and sent it to the governor and the Legislature for approval.
The funding requested is for nine different public colleges and universities, one being Utah State University.
The Board of Regents is asked each year to recommend funding for the higher education institutions in Utah.
USU Provost Stan Albrecht said the request will be presented to the governor within the next few weeks.
“The request this year is very similar to those in the past,” Albrecht said. “It aims at improving the quality of education for students at USU.”
According to a press release from the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) on Nov. 8, the board recognized the state’s budget challenges, but requested “76 percent of new, ongoing tax funds, or $54.1 million, be placed in a new, balanced funding formula.”
Forty-one percent ($22.1 million) of the new formula will go toward new student support, 36 percent ($19.5 million) toward existing student support, and 5 percent ($2.8 million) toward public service, research and non-instructional programs.
The remaining 18 percent ($9.7 million) will be allocated for USHE core issues around the state, such as new programs, buildings, libraries and financial aid.
Albrecht said it’s almost common knowledge the request won’t pass.
“The economy just can’t do it,” he said. “They’re asking for $71 million more than usual.”
John DeVilbiss, executive director of Public Relations and Marketing, agreed times are tough.
“Indicators are not good right now,” he said. “The revenues are short, and the state has so many institutions and so many students in it.”
DeVilbiss believes the economy will turn a corner within the next year, but for now, he said higher education institutions around the state will just have to make do.
A lot of the money would go toward hiring new faculty for students at USU, Albrecht said. He acknowledged a 26 to 1 ratio of students to faculty.
According to the press release, the regents approved a tuition increase of 4.5 percent across the state, with 0.5 percent of that being committed to student financial aid.
Students like Kelly Sue Clawson, a senior in secondary education, don’t like the idea of a tuition increase.
“It would be fine if it was going straight to our school,” she said. “But, it’s going to other schools around Utah, also. It’s not fair.”
Clawson said one of the main reasons she thinks USU needs more money is to hire more teachers.
“Some of my classes are only offered until 11 a.m. or noon, because there just aren’t enough teachers to teach into the afternoon,” she said.
According to a draft of the proposal, the ongoing tax funds request totals $93,032,100. The University of Utah is asking for the most, with an ongoing total of $23,450,050. Coming in second, USU is asking for $11,034,900.
More than $1 million of that total would be allocated for six facilities: the Natural Resources Annex, the Engineering Classroom Building, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Biology/Natural Resources West, the Laboratory Animal Research Center addition and the Brigham City Center.
If the entire proposal doesn’t pass, it’s the new facility funding that will be cut first, DeVilbiss said.
He also mentioned that, since USU lost $9 million last year, it’s almost like the university is only asking for $2 million this year.
“The proposal is actually rather modest this year,” he said.
Although he believes the university, and the entire state, won’t get the money being asked for, DeVilbiss said he thinks, because of the tuition increase, universities will get a little more money than usual.
“We hope to get a portion of it,” he said.
-emilieholmes@cc.usu.edu