State support for higher education at low point / LJWorld.com

Kansas Legislature

March 24, 2006

Kansas University may be spending more to educate students, but that's not thanks to state support.

"We realize that we have to take our future into our hands," said Lindy Eakin, KU vice provost for administration and finance.

A report on higher education finance released this week showed state support for higher education nationally hit a low point in 2005, when enrollment and inflation were taken into account. The report was released by the State Higher Education Executive Officers, a nonprofit association that supports postsecondary education.

In Kansas, higher education officials say they are encouraged by recent slight funding increases, following tough post-9-11 budget hits. But many say the state for a long time hasn't been the dominant partner in paying the costs of running a university.

"None of us expect to go back to the days of the '60s and early '70s when 80 percent of the budget came from the state and tuition was fairly low," Eakin said. "It appears that what's happening is a shift from a higher education seen as a public good to a private benefit."

Finding other sources

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius proposed a $20 million block grant for state universities this year. Sebelius' recommendation in 2006 was $18 million, and the appropriation ended up being $11.6 million.

State general fund support to KU fell in fiscal 2003, down to $130 million from $137 million the year before. It continued to fall in fiscal 2004 before taking an upward turn.

Despite the fluctuations, the reality is that KU is looking to tuition and other sources to pay for its rising costs.

State support in 1991 covered about 44 percent of KU's operating costs, according to the Kansas Board of Regents. In 2004, that figure had dropped to about 25 percent. The remaining costs were covered by tuition, private donations and other sources.

KU's total operating expenditures in 1991 were about $227 million. In 2004, the figure was $512 million.

"Higher education has never been lavishly funded in Kansas," KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway said.

In fiscal 2003 - the same year that state funding dropped - KU started its tuition enhancement plan, which increased tuition to pay for "enhancements" such as new faculty, salary boosts, technology improvements and other items.

"Twenty years from now, people should look back at this period and say: 'That was a historic moment,'" Eakin said of the tuition enhancement plan. "It's this huge stimulus for activity and moving forward."

Regent Dick Bond said the regents called recent increases in state support "incremental."

"I think there is a declining commitment to higher education, while at the same time there is at least rhetoric that we want the economy to grow and we want to increase economic development," he said. "But we are not providing the state funds to fuel that economic growth."

'Still quite a bargain'

Earlier this week, Alan Cobb, head of the Kansas chapter of Americans for Prosperity, an anti-tax group, said Kansas already was spending enough on higher education, allocating a higher percentage of its state budget than the national average.

State Rep. Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita, vice chairwoman of the House budget committee, said universities are finding different ways to raise revenue, and that's a good thing.

Rather than depending on state taxes, schools are partnering more with businesses, she said.

"Business is saying, 'We need these type of people. How do we get them?'" Landwehr said. "You have to look at that balance."

Tuition also has increased significantly at regents universities, but Landwehr said Kansas schools "are still quite a bargain for the quality."

Sen. Chris Steineger, a Democrat from Kansas City who sits on the Ways and Means Committee, said the dwindling percentage of state support for higher education was partly a matter of values.

He said at least half of legislators lack four-year degrees.

"If the people making the decisions never bothered to go to college themselves, then they probably don't value it," he said.

But according to the Legislative Handbook, at least 29 of 40 state senators and 79 of 125 representatives reported having at least a four-year degree. That's roughly 65 percent.

Staff writer Scott Rothschild contributed to this report.

Discussion

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24 March 2006
at 7:35 a.m.

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Godot (Anonymous) says…

The $500,000,000 for bioscience economic development should be recognized as an investment in higher ed figure since that money funds unisversity research projects and internships.
24 March 2006
at 8:28 a.m.

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fletch (Anonymous) says…

Wow, 35% of the state legislature doesn't have a degree. That explains so much.
24 March 2006
at 9 a.m.

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Jamesaust (Anonymous) says…

Rather than age, I believe the element that leads many in the Legislature to devalue education is that they represent depopulating districts.

In many instances the “young people” move to another part of Kansas but just as often (in western Kansas, more often) they move out of state. For people in some distant (and dying) part of the state, say, Greeley County along the Colorado border, there are few young people locally to benefit from this spending. And yet, there is a population of relatively poor people, dependent upon unreliable agriculture or already living on fixed incomes, who must (or choose) to put their own interests first. Over time, the census moves ever more political power eastward but there's a lag of many years in that process (reallocation will not occur again until the 2012 election).
24 March 2006
at 9:50 a.m.

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Bubarubu (Anonymous) says…

fletch—
Nationally, only about 24.4% of adults over the age of 25 have a college diploma. In Kansas, the number is better, but only 25.8%. By comparison, with KU in town, Lawrence shows 47.7% of the population with a diploma. That 65% of the legislature has a degree (not to mention any who mght have some college education but no diploma) is surprising.
24 March 2006
at 10:43 a.m.

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yourworstnightmare (Anonymous) says…

It is time for KU to divorce itself from the state. This chronic shirking of funding responsibility from the legislature coupled with this ridiculous “academic freedom” crap is seriously damaging KU.

If the state would donate the land and buildings to KU, a doubling of tuition, aggressive fundraising, and a vigorous pursuit of external research grants would easily replace the meager state funds that come to the University.

Without all of this public-institution headache, KU could proceed with its mission of education, research, and scholarship without the legislature looking over its shoulder at every turn.
24 March 2006
at 11:30 a.m.

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Godot (Anonymous) says…

YWN, you might be on to something. Emancipate KU! Make KU its own city-state. Give it the land, the buildings, the deferred maintenance, the underfunded pensions, the cost of administration, the health insurance responsibility, the retirement contributions, the whole she-bang. I think that would be a win-win situation for all parties.
24 March 2006
at 11:44 a.m.

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yourworstnightmare (Anonymous) says…

Godot,

Agreed entirely. The problem would be that tuition would be about double what it is now, killing the populist ideal of a public research university for all. The Kansas legislature is the guilty party in this death.

Maybe this wouldn't work and KU would fail, but the way things are going now, KU is destined to remain mediocre.

Along with this tuition rise, KU could also institute some meaningful entrance requirements beyond graduation from a Kansas high school with a 2.0 GPA. Increased academic credentials would help KU in intangible ways in recruiting, grant funding, and fundraising.

24 March 2006
at 11:56 a.m.

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Godot (Anonymous) says…

If the university were to become “for profit” then it could attract investors. Of course, then it would have to pay property tax, and that would help the school district and the city.

Win, win, that's what I say.
24 March 2006
at 12:03 p.m.

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yourworstnightmare (Anonymous) says…

Godot,

Interesting suggestion, but most private universities operate on a not-for-profit basis. I think this would be best for KU if it were to become private, somewhat like the KU Endowment Association and the KU Athletic Corporation operate currently.
24 March 2006
at 8:14 p.m.

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jimincountry (Anonymous) says…

Spend our tax money on “hard” subjects that can be measured……sciences, engineering, etc…not on soft subjects…women's studies, social welfare,etc.