State reveals higher ed. budget

The Oregon Legislature appropriated $807.5 million for higher education for the year 2009–11 on June 29. The amount is a 13 percent reduction, totaling $118 million, from the $925.3 million determined as essential to maintain services and programs by the Oregon University System.

OUS Chancellor George Pernsteiner said the reductions in funding have a significant impact on students and their families, particularly in the increased tuition.

Diane Saunders, communication director for OUS, commented on the Legislature’s budget.

“[The Legislature] said that you go to the students and charge more if the state is not able to provide as much, but we believe that there should be more parity in the level of cuts to all public education,” Saunders said.

Pernsteiner expressed his disappointment with the cuts in a news release.

“At a time when a record number of Oregon citizens have recognized that higher education is critically important, the state has chosen not to invest in them and in the state’s own future,” he said in the report.

OUS estimated that enrollment for fall term 2009 and 2010 at the seven OUS universities is 89,063 for 2009 and 91,264 for 2010. Both OUS and Portland State expect enrollment to rise despite the cuts and poor economic conditions.

With the increase in student population comes the increase in demand for services, Pernsteiner explained, expressing his concern that some universities may reach capacity and could possibly be forced to restrict student enrollment, a practice that OUS does not often participate in.

Saunders explained the possible scenario.

“Let’s say that a student applies to the University of Oregon but because of the budget cut, UO can only let a certain number of students into the campus,” Saunders said. “What we would do is offer the student a slot in another university that has the capacity.”

According to Saunders, a program has started between Southern Oregon University and UO where potential UO students are offered the opportunity to attend SOU for a year or two before transferring to UO due to these capacity restrictions.

“The state is looking at creative ways to handle student demand so that we don’t have to turn students away—they just have to take option No. 2,” Saunders said. “The concern is that some campuses may have to cut classes, which could delay a student’s graduation.”

An OUS projection from 2007–08 determined that UO has the highest number of newly admitted undergraduates, with 5,418 new students each year, followed by Portland State’s 4,674 annual new students. 

Portland State President Wim Wiewel prepared for this scenario early in the year, asking colleges and departments around campus to create budget scenarios for potential funding cuts of $7.6 million.

The State Board of Higher Education will meet at Portland State in the Smith Memorial Student Union to consider tuition for the 2009–11 biennium on Friday, July 10.

According to Saunders, tuitions are expected to increase by an average of 5 percent for smaller OUS universities, and 8 percent for larger universities, such as Portland State and Oregon State University.

With the recently released budget for 2009–11, OUS said they believe tuition increase will be higher than anticipated.

“It’s the largest cut that OUS has taken for many, many years. It’s impacting everyone across the board, the faculty and staffs have had their salary decreased,” Saunders said. “Everyone has to share the pain of this recession environment. Our goal is try to hold students harmless, meaning students can still be able to get in to college.”