COLUMBUS Sweet: Higher-ed funding plan means no tuition rise at YSU

One regent said the compromise signals a need for more funding for higher education.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- A compromise plan on funding for state colleges and universities is simply a stop-gap measure, says a top official with the state agency overseeing higher education.
"This is a way to spread the pain," Rich Petrick, board of regents vice chancellor, said Thursday.
Petrick's comments came after regents adopted the plan to distribute $1.5 billion in state subsidies to public colleges and universities.
The redistribution restores $1.4 million to Youngstown State University and will negate any need for a tuition increase for spring semester, according to YSU President Dr. David Sweet.
State colleges and universities reached a compromise to reallocate the state's share of instruction money, after some institutions were surprised in July. That's when they realized they wouldn't get as much state funding as they had expected because of uneven enrollment growth across campuses.
The compromise
Now, under the compromise plan, universities with enrollment growth won't get as much funding as they had hoped while schools identified as "stable" won't lose as much funding as they stood to lose before the compromise.
"Nobody got everything they wanted," said regent Tom Noe. "Everybody gave up something."
For example, Kent State University, which is experiencing enrollment growth, would have received $88.5 million in state subsidies for the '02-'03 school year before the compromise, a $2.6 million increase from the last school year.
Under the regents' compromise plan, Kent State will receive $87.6 million in state subsidies.
By contrast, YSU stood to receive $41.1 million in state subsidies for the '02-'03 school year, a $2.8 million cut from last school year.
Under the compromise plan, YSU will receive $42.6 million, a $1.4 million cut from last year.
"This is very good news for YSU," said Sweet, YSU president. "It will help us to move toward fiscal stability."
"This also means that I will not need to recommend to the YSU Board of Trustees to raise tuition for the spring semester," he added.
Sweet thanked Regents, Chancellor Roderick G.W. Chu, the Inter-University Council and the state's community colleges for helping to reach the compromise redistribution formula.
The Northeast Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Portage County stood to receive $11.456 million in subsidies before the compromise, a $46,000 increase from last year. Under the compromise, NEOUCOM will receive $11.436 million.
The need for the compromise was fueled, in part, by $100 million less being available to be distributed to the schools this year. That was part of a $121 million budget cut to higher education funding.
Regent Bruce Beeghly said the situation signals a need for more state support for colleges and universities.
XContributor: Staff writer Joanne Viviano