PSU holds $52.8 million in reserve
The economy is down. The media, headhunters and the government espouse the advantages of having a college degree. Out-of-state students find Oregon attractive. These are some of the speculations as to the cause of increased student enrollment in Oregon universities. But whatever the reason, due to the increase in student enrollment in 2011 and decisions made by Oregon legislature, the seven public universities in the Oregon University System are sitting on a healthy-sized cash cushion.
More than 100,000 students are enrolled in OUS schools, and combined, the total cash reserve hovers close to $200 million. Portland State alone holds $53 million in its reserve and has the highest number of enrolled students in Oregon.
Scott Gallagher, director of communications at PSU, believes that the marked increase in student enrollment can be traced to the current economic recession. “History shows that when there is a recession, more people go to college,” he said.
This doesn’t seem to be the case at PSU, where reports from fall 2011 indicate that PSU didn’t have a significant increase in student enrollment. Gallagher corroborated the reports and said that while statewide enrollment figures increased significantly, PSU’s enrollment increase was relatively low. “Last year, our increase in enrollment was almost flat, up by only 2.5 percent,” Gallagher said. He also added that the university doesn’t expect to see significant growth in enrollment.
Despite the relatively small growth in enrollment, PSU’s reserve fund substantially increased, to which Gallagher attributed to a legislative decision by the Oregon government. “The legislature gave us more of our two-year budget in the first year,” Gallagher said. “They gave us a lot of money earlier than normal, so we have more up-front than normal.”
According to Gallagher, PSU is not in a rush to spend the additional funds right away, as it is required to maintain a reserve-fund balance of 5 to 15 percent of the total budget of the university. Because of this, Gallagher said, it’s vital to look at the higher reserve account as an emergency fund. “You don’t do something that creates an ongoing need. It’ll be fine for this year, but what about next year?” Gallagher said.
It would be ideal to treat the reserve funds as a fail-safe, but a large portion of the reserve account has already been spent, Gallagher said. The university recently negotiated new contracts with the American Association of University Professors and the Service Employees International Union that will allow for university faculty to make an additional 4 to 5 percent on their salaries going forward. Additionally, Gallagher mentioned that a significant portion of the available reserve cash has been dedicated to upgrading various infrastructure and equipment on campus.
In order to generate more revenue, PSU would need to see a sizable increase in student enrollment. But, according to Gallagher, while the nationwide economic recession is a huge driving force behind overall increased participation in higher education, the first major wave of it is over, and another huge enrollment influx is unlikely.
However, some PSU students believe the enrollment boom can be attributed to more than just an economic recession.
Junior music major Derek Norman said the boon is due in part to the appeal of Oregon to younger people: “Portland is a sort of a youth mecca, whose reputation grows through word of mouth. Coming from Tucson, I’ve personally noticed a gradual migration of Tucsonans to Portland. Portland State is the central node of this migratory trend, and given its low price and diversity of academic paths, its growth isn’t surprising,” Norman said.
Other students, like film and graphic design junior Micah Cruver, believe that enrollment is up as a result of greater emphasis being placed on getting a college education: “As the job market is becoming more and more over-saturated with our rapidly growing population, people recognize that college is a necessary step forward in having a edge against the competition, and finding themselves a place in society,” Cruver said. “High school administration and public media have done an excellent job in establishing a college education as an expectation, instead of just an option.”
At the PSU student rally on Feb. 21 regarding education, PSU President Wim Wiewel expounded on the “40/40/20” plan for Oregon education. According to the plan, by 2020, 40 percent of all Oregonians would have at least two years of college education, 40 percent would have at least some post-high school education, and the remaining 20 percent would at least have a high school degree. Unfortunately for this plan, if PSU enrollment stays flat, success could be extremely far off.
“To meet 40/40/20, we’d need PSU to have an enrollment of 52,000, up from our current 30,000,” Gallagher said. “Under our current level of state investment, it’s not realistic to expect us to meet those goals. We’re currently 44th in the nation in per-student support from the state.”
Gallagher explained that PSU already needs significantly more classroom space for its current enrollment figure, and that more needs to become available. He emphasized the importance of not putting all of the blame for this lack of support on legislature, and recommended that the public take responsibility to help higher education by voting for reform measures that will benefit the university system in the long run.
“I think it’s shameful that we do not prioritize higher education,” Gallagher said. “We know it can solve so many of our problems in the long run.”
