THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 13, 1995 TAG: 9510130011
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
How would you feel if you were making 21 percent less than in 1991 but were expected to do more? Squeezed, no doubt. And that's exactly the situation that Norfolk State University finds itself in.
It's been a tough five years for state-supported institutions of higher education in Virginia. Under Democrat Doug Wilder and Republican George Allen, colleges and universities have endured one cut after another. Norfolk State has fared worse than most.
While the average budget cut for comprehensive institutions between 1991-92 and 1995-96 has been 8 percent, NSU has suffered a 21 percent cutback. Its portion of general-fund money per full-time-equivalent student in 1991-92 was slightly above average at $4,214. In the 1995-96 budget, NSU gets $3,314. The reduction is painful enough in absolute terms, but it is even worse in relative terms. NSU is now scheduled to receive $533 less than the average school.
At the same time, NSU has also ended up on the wrong side of the in-state/out-of-state equation. It is to a school's advantage to enroll out-of-state students since they pay more in tuition, more than twice as much. At NSU, for example, a full-time in-state undergraduate pays $1,432.50 a semester. An out-of-state student pays $3,196.
Unfortunately for NSU, however, in-state enrollments have boomed. That's good for the Virginia students the school serves but bad for NSU since it has lost the chance to reap the higher fees out-of-state students pay.
The results of the squeeze have been predictable. NSU has been forced to buy fewer library books and less equipment, to defer maintenance, to eliminate staff and faculty training.
Just to erase the gap of $533 per full-time-equivalent student between NSU and the average comprehensive institution, the school would need $3.3 million more in funding from the state for 1995-96. It has made the case for an increase of that size, but the squeeze from Richmond is likely to continue. And to get back to the level of funding NSU enjoyed before 1991, the school would need millions more.
The green-eyeshade types in Richmond may feel they are only squeezing a budget, but they're wrong. They are squeezing quality out of education and students out of opportunities to build prosperous lives. Saving money in this way may seem good for the state budget in the short run. But by making Virginia less competitive in the long run it can wind up damaging all of us. by CNB