Members of the Senate Higher Education Budget Division visited the U’s Twin Cities campus on October 21, to hear from administrators, faculty, staff, and students about the state of the U and concerns about current and future funding.
Legislators in attendance:
Chairperson Sandy Pappas
Senator David Tomassoni
Senator Wes Skoglund
Dr. Robert Elde, Dean of the College of Biological Sciences, spoke about the ways in which the U creates value for the state. The most valuable contribution is the creativity of the students the college educates —the state’s future workforce. Elde also talked about the University Enterprise Laboratories initiative and an outreach project of the College of Biological Sciences that educates science teachers in rural Minnesota.
Craig Swan, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, spoke about enrollment trends. Applications from Minnesota high schools are up 60 percent and the academic preparation of incoming students is up 10 percent based on ACT scores. The incoming class is more diverse and the University is focused on increasing graduation rates.
Peter Zetterberg, Office of Institutional Research, and Reporting gave a presentation on state funding and tuition over the last 10 years. Graphs show a dramatic increase in tuition and a steady decline in state funding for the U. The state currently invests less than 4 percent of the state general fund in the University. Undergraduate tuition at the U is the third highest in the Big 10. State appropriations in 2004 equal the level of funding in 1986 when adjusted for inflation.
Dennis Schultstad, President of the Alumni Association, said that funding the University should not been seen is merely spending, but an investment that pays dividends to the state. The Board of Regents and the President have worked hard to minimize the impact of previous cuts, but further reductions would have severe effects. Schulstad also said that the generosity of Alumni and friends in the form of private giving is evidence that Minnesotans care about the University. They are willing to put their own money towards its future success and stressed that the state should do the same.
Randy Croce, a labor education services employee testified on behalf of the Professionals and Administrative employees at the U. He expressed concern that the public service mission of the University is being compromised by the lack of state funds. He has seen in his own department a shift in priorities to activities that will generate revenue for the University and not areas of greatest need.
Testimonials from U of M Students Key Points:
• Academic and leadership opportunities afforded to them at the U are unparalleled.
• Student leaders are in support of University’s proposed partnership with the state and 5.5 percent tuition hike and will ask legislators to support the University’s request so that tuition does not increase more.
• Student leaders are working to educate students about the biennial budget and other legislative issues facing the University and encouraging students to contact their legislators.
• There is increased pressure on many students who work 20-30 hours per week and attend class. Educational experience is being compromised because of financial strains due to higher tuition.
House leaders debated higher education issues on campus last week. Read the stories below to hear what they said.
Read the MPR story here
Read the Minnesota Daily story here.
A commentary by University of Minnesota president Bob Bruininks on the current effort to increase the number of scholarships for students at the U.
Pioneer Press
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/editorial/9910417.htm
On Friday, October 8, President Bob Bruininks presented his legislative request to the Board of Regents at the regents' monthly meeting. The biennial budget proposal for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 calls for a "50-50 partnership" with the state, in which the state would contribute $84 million in new funding to the University over the two-year period. In return, the University would generate its share of new funding through tuition increases of 5.5 percent each year (generating $27 million per year) plus internal reallocations of $30 million.
Read the full story
Minnesota's public colleges and universities are preparing to do battle on their next budget requests. Both the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities systems say they're going to ask for less money than in years past.
Minnesota Public Radio story:
To read the story: http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/10/05_helmsm_uminnbudget/