• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Income From Tuition and Fees Increased 40 Percent From 2001 to 2004

Posted on: Wednesday, 13 July 2005, 18:00 CDT

Jul. 13--West Virginia ranks last among Southern states in how much it spends on its four-year public college students, according to a new report from the Southern Regional Education Board.

In 2004, the state spent $3,436 from its general revenue for every four-year public college student in the state, much lower than the 16-state average of $5,744.

The state ranked ninth in what it earned from tuition and fees, at $4,527 per student.

Colleges and universities throughout the South have raised tuition and fees to deal with state budget cuts and rising enrollments.

Between 2001 and 2004, the Legislature cut 15 percent, or $40 million per year, from appropriations to four-year colleges and universities. Meantime, income from tuition and fees went up 40 percent, by $65 million per year, according to the report.

That's a heavy load for students in a state with the second-lowest per capita income in the nation, said Chancellor Michael Mullen of the state Higher Education Policy Commission.

Mullen provided the SREB report to lawmakers as part of interim meetings Tuesday in Charleston.

"Have we gone too far with the four-year campuses?" Mullen asked lawmakers. Senate Education Chairman Robert Plymale, D-Wayne, asked Mullen to clarify what he meant.

"In terms of budget reductions and transference to tuition and fees, have we gone too far?" Mullen said.

Plymale put the blame for tuition increases on the Higher Education Policy Commission, which approved the hikes.

"That's on the backs of students and parents," Plymale said.

He suggested the commission had done things "outside the purview of the law." He did not elaborate, but promised that he would explain in a future letter to the commission.

Mullen signaled that higher education could not be expected to reach some of its goals unless funding is increased. For example, he questioned whether the state's colleges and universities could reach 90 percent of the funding of their peers, which is the current objective.

"Is the desire to have average national funding realistic in a state where per capita income is so low? To say we ought to be funded like Texas or Florida, that is not realistic in a state with such low per capita income," Mullen said.

Judy Hale of the West Virginia Federation of Teachers said West Virginians must invest in higher education if they want to climb out of 49th place.

"It becomes a matter of priorities," she said. "If we believe that education is the key to economic development, we ought to put our money where our mouth is."

The SREB report said salaries at the state's colleges and universities ranked 15th out of 16 Southern states. West Virginia also ranks 43rd in the nation in teacher salaries, Hale said.

There was some good news in the report. West Virginia's college-going rate continues to edge upward, and now is about the same as the national average of about six in 10 high school graduates.

Also, the state ranks fourth among Southern states its total funding for community colleges.

Finally, Mullen said the state's two historically black institutions could lose $1.4 million in federal funding next year.

Next year, West Virginia State University and Bluefield State College will no longer be allowed to count their community college students when they ask for special federal funds for historically black colleges.

West Virginia State's funding could drop from $3.1 million to $2.4 million, if enrollment stays about the same, and Bluefield State could drop from $2.9 million to $2.2 million.

-----

To see more of The Charleston Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wvgazette.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, The Charleston Gazette, W.Va.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Charleston Gazette

More News in this Category