THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 15, 1995 TAG: 9501130025
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Governor Allen's proposed budget for fiscal '96 deals state-funded colleges a substantial blow. And Norfolk's Old Dominion University is in some ways going to suffer the worst.
Virginia's state schools have endured a 20 percent decline in state funding since 1989. The state's colleges now rank a dismal 43rd in the nation in percent of funding received from the state.
Cuts proposed before the Allen budget was drafted would have lopped off another $14.7 million. The prestigious Business-Higher Education Council of industry and civic leaders opposed those cuts. But now the Allen budget calls for an additional $58.6 million reduction, for a total of $73.3 million. That would knock Virginia back to 45th in the nation in support for state schools.
All affected institutions will lament the proposed cuts and make a case for why they should be spared. Old Dominion may have the best case. Though not one of Virginia's glamor institutions, like William and Mary or U.Va., Old Dominion now serves a student population approaching 18,000, or 13,500 full-time-equivalent students.
Its programs are popular and prepare students for such in-demand fields as computer science and medical technology. Many Old Dominion students are already working. They rely on its courses for job advancement or career change. It is the kind of school, serving the kind of students, that will be more in demand as the 21st century dawns.
If the Allen cuts are enacted, however, ODU will lose $4 million in funding - 9 percent of its state funds. This comes at a time when the education Old Dominion offers is needed by more and more lifelong learners. Unlike many state schools, whose enrollment has been declining or flat, Old Dominion recorded the highest enrollment increase of any state school in the last year. Yet the simultaneous tuition cap proposed by Governor Allen leaves the school little way to make up the loss in state funding other than by cuts in services.
Furthermore, Old Dominion begins the latest round of cuts already behind in the race for state funds. The average state support for the six schools that grant doctoral degrees is $5,790 per full-time equivalent student. But Old Dominion gets only $4,400 per student in a virtual tie for last place with George Mason.
Thus, one of the states most successful schools, with a rising demand for its services, gets the least funding and faces new cuts. This is not only unwise, it is inequitable. So far, Old Dominion has coped well with reduced resources. By spring, 20 degree programs will have been eliminated along with 535 courses. The faculty is shouldering an average load 10 percent greater than several years ago.
President James Koch believes in making lemonade when presented with a bushel of lemons, but this sort of mindless cutting by the state can sour the sunniest disposition. There are limits to how much streamlining and downsizing can be achieved before the institution suffers, faculty and student recruitment become more difficult and Virginia's competitive position suffers.
The proposed Allen cuts are penny-wise and pound-foolish. They will hurt Virginia, and they fall lopsidedly on Old Dominion. by CNB