Corbett Plans to Cut Funding for PA Higher Education

Governor Tom Corbett’s proposed budget will cut Pennsylvania’s public university funding by between 20 and 30 percent if state legislature passes the bill.

Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed $27.3 billion state budget will reduce state funding for three of the four major state-related universities.

Duquesne spokeswoman Rose Ravasio said the University “can’t speculate” on the state’s proposed cuts but will address them if Corbett’s budget is passed, writes Wes Crosby at the Duquesne Duke.

Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh and Temple University would see ~30 percent cuts, while members of the State System of Higher Education, which includes universities such as Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Slippery Rock, would see ~20 percent cuts.

Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg said that Corbett is penalizing universities like Pitt, who, Nordenberg notes, makes extensive contributions to the local economy.

“That form of calculation essentially imposes a mathematical penalty on a research university like Pitt for importing $800 million of research funding into the local economy.

“It may also reflect a fundamental misconception about such funds — which can only be spent on the projects for which they were awarded and are not a source of revenue that can be used for more general purposes or to reduce tuition levels.”

Pitt has already had to raise its tuition by 8.5 percent to make up for the losses made by last year’s cuts.

“Diminished levels of state support, of course, stand as a primary contributor to rising public university tuition and its impact on access and affordability.

“Virtually everyone who has seriously examined these issues has fairly called for colleges and universities to do even more to control their costs but also has recognized that the key culprit is reduced state funding.”

Penn State President Rodney Erickson said that officials at Penn State are to meet with the state’s legislature, wanting to hit home the severity of the impact the cuts would have on the universities and the greater community.

Erickson said:

“In the months ahead, we’ll have an opportunity to make the legislature aware of the likely impacts of these cuts for Penn State programs and how they will affect students and their families.

“We fully appreciate the financial pressure on the Commonwealth in identifying resources, and trust the state understands the consequences of continuing cuts of this magnitude.”

Corbett has been met with strong opposition from university administrators, officials, and faculty members who fear what even more cuts could do to higher education, writes Will Deshong at The Rocket.

Kenn Marshall, a spokesperson for PASSHE, said:

“It’s too early to predict what type of impacts the cuts could have.

“But when you combine $90 million in reductions, a loss of $170 million in general funding over the past two years, losing half of our capital allocation funds and $7 million in deferred maintenance—all that combined leaves a significant impact on universities and students.”

The APSCUF also reacted to the proposals. Dr. Steve Hicks, president of the organization, said:

“Since taking office, Governor Corbett has taken every opportunity to decrease funding for our universities.

“We understand that these are challenging economic times, but our students and their families are already struggling to make ends meet. Additional budget cuts are going to put the college dream out of reach for many Pennsylvanians.

“Our campus communities must stand together for quality education.

“I urge the legislature to reaffirm the promise of affordable higher education for the working families of Pennsylvania.”

Comments

Kevin

February 21, 2012 at 10:10 am

They will hike tuition to offset the cuts, and of course no one will say anything because students are basically insulated from true cost of college education via financial aid and student loans. And this time next year, we’ll be reading the same story again.

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Jenn Fraser

February 21, 2012 at 10:11 am

I admit, I am feeling a bit hopeless over the state of our higher education nowadays just for this reason. I’ve been reading about education policy for about six months now and I’ve never been given a good explanation why college education is as expensive as it is, and why running a university requires beggaring its students.

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anon

May 4, 2012 at 10:52 am

Corbett undeniably has affiliations with charter schools and the private education sector. It is quite obvious that education is now being looked at as a “business” for republicans since the crash of the economy several years ago. If the economy is slow, these wealthy business men are not making their usual 2 billion+ a year. State/tax money is now the target for investment for these people and they are going to take every penny they can out of the system. I will add that their plan is going quite well. State System Higher education in PA is target #1 and funding will be cut by a total of around 40% leaving state schools no alternative but to raise tuition significantly. When state school tuition is comparative to that of one of these new (republican owned) “prestigious” private schools, students will no longer attend state schools. Students attend PA state higher ed schools mainly for financial reasons, as you can’t get a better education for the price. When the PA State system of Higher education is out of business, these private schools will drastically increase tuition, as there will be no local competition (this has already happened in other states). This will leave our young either crippled with student loans to big business banks, or unable to afford further education where only the rich will be educated. Maybe that is why there has been a substantial increase in tax dollars being spent for law enforcement, demonstrating that they understand what they are doing and what the consequences will be. K-12 will be next on the list to take significant reductions as the republican plan to soak up all tax dollars/state funds into their own pockets will continue…

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dsmith

May 7, 2012 at 12:49 pm

I agree… Corbett’s proposed voucher system will destroy K-12 education next, and these private schools will be popping up all over the state trying to cash-in on this new law. You will not only see these schools physically, but pay attention to all of the new “cyber schools” that are emerging and will also qualify for this voucher program. Opening a cyber school is a lot more profitable than building a school… If you asked me, I would say that this plan to profit from education emerged before Corbett even took office. The question is, who are the people trying to benefit from this proposed law by opening new schools, and what is their connection with the governor Corbett? Did they pay him or promise are share of the profits???

DS

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