We are on Our Own: Funding Utah State University

From its modest beginnings as a land-grant college in 1888 to today as a world-renowned research institution, Utah State University has stood by its promise to provide an accessible, quality education to the sons and daughters of Utah’s hard-working families.

 

If the university’s original administrators could step into the future and set foot on campus today, they would no doubt marvel at the growth and progress that has blossomed from the seeds they had sown. Yet they would immediately recognize what hasn’t changed, knowingly pat President Hall on the back, and say, “I see you’re still needing to spend dollars when you’ve only got dimes. Been there, done that.”

 

Over the next decade, Utah State will scramble to accommodate the state’s burgeoning population of high school graduates, while watching state appropriations continue to shrink. Today, Utah ranks 45th in the nation in public education expenditure per student. Higher education’s share of the state budget has declined from 17.3 percent in 1993-94 to 15.4 percent in 2004-05. Clearly, Utah State needs more funds to continue its mission and those funds aren’t coming from the state.

 

So where will the funds come from? Can Utah State cut current budgets to satisfy our needs? The answer is no. Current faculty salaries are 16 percent below peer institutions, professional employee salaries are 7 percent below the national average for comparable positions nationwide and classified employee salaries are a whopping 25 percent below the Utah private sector average.

 

Utah State employees received no salary increases from 2001 to 2003 and received a modest 1 percent increase in 2004. Like many workers in Utah and across the nation, Utah State employees have also seen their health insurance premiums rise dramatically.

 

How does faculty compensation impact students? Utah State lost 35 faculty members and top administrators last year, and salaries were cited as a key reason. Among the university’s top goals are retention and recruitment of top professors and students, along with a reduction in the student-teacher ratio. Faculty wages are directly tied to the achievement of these goals.

 

Just like private industry, the university faces rising operating expenses. Legislative appropriations for departmental operating budgets have not been increased for more than 15 years. Equipment replacement and repair is being deferred, and funds from vacant salary positions are being used to pay operating expenses. Fuel and power costs continue to rise, and despite aggressive efforts to become more efficient in energy use, the university still faces a significant fuel and power deficit.

 

While struggling to provide the basics, Utah State cannot expand and enhance academic opportunities. For example, as the university looks forward with great anticipation to a new library, journal subscriptions are being cancelled and new acquisitions are limited. State support for ongoing library operations is simply inadequate.

 

Financially, Utah State is becoming more and more like its private counterparts. State appropriations currently account for about 31 percent of the university’s total budget. Contracts and grants, as well as private contributions, are becoming an increasingly significant source of revenue for Utah State, but these dollars tend to be highly restricted in their use. In most cases, they cannot be used for general operating expenses.

 

No one enjoys a tuition increase, but it is a sound and logical source of increased revenue. Despite increases in the past three years, Utah State’s tuition is still 84 percent of the western states average and 67 percent of the national average for four-year universities. Simply put, Utah State is a bargain and a high-quality bargain at that.

 

Under the current proposal, an undergraduate with resident status taking 15 credits per semester would face the following tuition increases:

 

 

Under the university’s proposal, the tuition increase would raise faculty salaries 4 percent each year over the next three years. The increase will also be used to purchase journal subscriptions for the library.

 

The university recognizes that most of its students are working hard to support themselves, and often families as well, while coming up with the funds necessary to continue their educations. Is it worth it? Yes. Higher education is an investment that will enhance an individual’s quality of life and boost their lifelong earning potential. It is an investment worthy of sacrifice.