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Chancellor opposes KSU’s funding proposal
By MARC KOVAC
COLUMBUS
The head of the state’s university system remained firm in his opposition to a proposal by Kent State University to borrow funds for campus improvements, then pay them back with a new student fee.
Chancellor Eric Fingerhut said he’s still in conversations with KSU about the plan and is open to further discussions with university officials.
“I have done that, working with them to find a way to address these issues of concern,” he said Wednesday. “But, unfortunately ... the proposal that they’ve continued to insist on simply does not have the protections for students and for the state that I need to see.”
Fingerhut’s comments came after continued public pressure from KSU for state approval of its plan to complete $250 million in renovations at its main campus, funded through a federal bond program backed by stimulus dollars.
The plan includes a new, $40 million facility for the College of Architecture and Environmental Design; a new, $40 million facility for the School of Art; and renovations to the university’s science facilities, in addition to other upgrades.
KSU has proposed repaying the bonds through a new student fee implemented over time, starting in 2012 and reaching a maximum cost of $24 per credit hour. That would cost a student taking four classes per semester, or 12 credit hours, about $576 per year once the fee is fully implemented.
But the fee would require the approval of Fingerhut, the Board of Regents and the State Controlling Board. KSU officials are pushing for their OK before the end of the year so they can take advantage of the federal bond program, which is set to expire.
“If we miss this opportunity, the cost for the project would increase by $57 million,” said Emily Vincent, a KSU spokeswoman.
Fingerhut said, however, the proposal is unacceptable on a number of levels, including the fact that no other Ohio university has created a separate student fee to cover improvements to academic buildings.