Despite a potential 30 percent reduction in state funding for Oregon’s universities, Portland State President Wim Wiewel maintains that much of the university’s core features will remain intact.
Wiewel estimates Portland State will still boast about 27,000 students and 3,500 faculty members next year and the school will continue to actively pursue its mission of delivering a quality education.
But Wiewel understands that with the potential of a 30 percent reduction—a worst-case scenario, with Oregon University System officials saying it should be closer to 20 percent—budgetary changes will be necessary at Portland State. Those changes include a 10 to 15 percent tuition increase, up to an estimated 720 class sections facing elimination and the possibility of a 4.6 percent salary cut for faculty.
Wiewel explained Thursday that state subsidy represents about one-third of the funds Portland State needs to operate, while tuition accounts for roughly the other two-thirds. Therefore, when state subsidies are reduced tuition is used to counteract the funding loses.
Higher education is feeling the pinch after Oregon legislators demanded earlier this week that all state agencies prepare “doomsday” budget cut lists that would act as a worst-case scenario guide to fill Oregon’s $4.4 billion budget shortfall.
And a large portion of the financial burden facing higher education will be made up through increasing tuition rates.
Wiewel said the level of tuition increase at Portland State ultimately depends on how much the state cuts higher education funding, but believes that the final amount will be closer to 15 percent rather than 10 percent.
“It depends on level of the cut that comes down,” Wiewel said. “Even at 15 percent [tuition increase] and a 20 percent state funding cut, you still have to make serious cuts. The further down from 15 percent, the more cuts elsewhere.”
A 15 percent increase for an undergraduate Oregon resident student taking 12 credits at Portland State would equate to about $196 more per term, or an additional $589 in tuition costs for an academic year consisting of three quarters.
The impending tuition increase is substantially larger than those Portland State students have faced in recent years. Since the 2005-06 academic year, Portland State’s average tuition increase for an undergraduate Oregon resident taking 12 credits has been 2.48 percent each year.
ASPSU President Hannah Fisher calls the potential tuition increase Portland State students will incur in the 2009-10 academic year “about one month’s rent for a lot of students,” but warns that additional money should not be the greatest concern.
“What we really have to be concerned about is not the actual $600 increase,” Fisher said, “but the concern around the increase causing students to drop out of school or not attend in the first place.”
Since OUS schools keep 30 percent of any income from a tuition increase higher than 3.6 percent for financial aid and rates are likely to rise substantially, Fisher said it is especially crucial to refine the processes to ensure those students most in need of financial aid receive it.
Fisher, who serves on the State Board of Higher Education, also mentioned the possibility of students in some Portland State programs being charged differential tuition, an additional fee tacked onto the base rate, to help cover shortfalls.
However, Fisher and Wiewel both cautioned that the university is still in the planning stages and merely making preparations until the Oregon Legislature decides how much funding higher education will receive.
But students are not the only ones who will feel the financial fallout of the funding cuts, as Wiewel said that the university is currently in negotiations with the Portland State chapter of the American Association of University Professors concerning a potential 4.6 percent salary cut for faculty.
Wiewel remains hopeful that the negotiations will led to a positive conclusion.
“I have been struck by the sense of solidarity people have in realizing we are all fortunate to have jobs,” Wiewel said. “Those of us who have jobs, we are going to have to do our share.”
Beginning March 1, about 50 to 60 non-union Portland State employees agreed to take a voluntary 4.6 percent salary cut, Wiewel said, which he believes will make at least a modest impact in compensating for the budget shortfalls.
Student services are another potential avenue to reduce spending. However, the State Board of Higher Education prioritized student services, meaning they should not be cut as substantially as other areas. Still there is a possibility some advising and support services funding may be decreased.
Fisher said that historically when Portland State has made cuts to student services, such as academic advising, it has had a negative impact on the retention rate, especially among first-generation college students.
The fact that other Oregon universities have seen similar results after cutting student services, Fisher said, made it important in the eyes of the state board to prioritize those services when making budgetary decisions.
Whether it’s a 15 percent tuition increase or a 4.6 percent salary cut for faculty, Wiewel knows that deciding which areas should most significantly feel the burden will be difficult, however, he hopes to send a message centering around solidarity and continued efforts for excellence.
“We have to figure out what is a fair distribution of the burden,” Wiewel said, “and how large does the burden have to be to still deliver a quality education.”