Colleges funded most by tuition

~ A state auditor's report also cited Southeast Missouri State University as a model for cutting costs.

A report from State Auditor Claire McCaskill released Wednesday shows tuition has overtaken state taxpayer support as the biggest source of money for state universities.

McCaskill's report also highlights Southeast Missouri State University as a model for other four-year institutions seeking to cut costs by eliminating or restructuring low-attendance degree programs.

The report is a follow-up to a 2003 report that showed tuition increases were rising much faster than inflation or Missourians' personal incomes. Tuition increases slackened since that time but have continued to outpace inflation and income growth.

"In shorthand, higher education has taken a huge hit in Missouri and students and their families are paying a very steep price for that," McCaskill said in an interview.

In 1999, tuition supplied $458 million, or 28 percent of the money spent by state universities. State tax appropriations provided $729 million, or 44 percent.

By this year, tuition was netting the schools $803 million, or 37 percent of their budgets, while state appropriations had fallen to $697 million, 32 percent of total spending.

"We had a very sad historical moment in our state when the lines crossed," McCaskill said.

State support is an important component in keeping tuition costs under control, McCaskill said. But universities also must work to control costs, she said, and the report issued Wednesday points to Southeast Missouri State University as a model.

In 2003, Southeast began evaluating low-attendance academic programs to determine whether results justified the cost. The university estimated it saved $625,000 by eliminating and changing several academic programs. A review of non-academic spending produced another $400,000 in savings, the report said.

If the criteria used to evaluate Southeast's academic offerings were applied statewide, the report said, 205 academic programs with annual enrollments ranging from less than one student per year to 61 students per year would be slated for review.

"We cite that as a good example of one of the strategies that needs to be employed," McCaskill said.

McCaskill's report was released the same day that a Missouri Senate committee reviewing tuition held a public hearing in St. Louis. Southeast president Dr. Ken Dobbins testified.

Dobbins said he told lawmakers that Missouri has a long history of shifting the burden of supporting higher education from taxpayers to students. In 1981, for example, students paid only 15 percent of the cost of operating state universities, he said.

"State appropriations have decreased significantly, and coupled with state appropriations, there are a lot of demands on higher education that weren't around 20 years ago," he said.

The use of Southeast as an example for other universities validates the school's approach to budget woes, Dobbins said. "We worked very hard as a university to make sure it was a fair and rational and humanistic approach to reductions," he said. "I think we accomplished that."

McCaskill's report noted that the state Department of Higher Education has stopped reviewing academic programs because of budget constraints. The department's budget has been cut to about $695,000 from $2 million in 2001. The department's staff has been cut to 12 from 35.

To control tuition increases, Dobbins said, lawmakers would have to provide funding increases that at least equal inflation. And to eliminate increases, he said, state appropriations would have to rise at least twice as much as prices.

"I don't know if that is logical or if it is feasible considering the constraints on the budget," he said. "But to keep up with inflation on the state side would be a great help for all of us."

In response to the report, Gov. Matt Blunt's office responded that it is working to direct more money to higher education, and criticized the administration of former governor Bob Holden, a Democrat.

The audit "points out the previous administration hung higher education out to dry," Blunt spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said. "In sharp contrast to that, this administration has facilitated a significant $20 million increase for higher education."

State Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, said the core issue is "affordable access to higher education." Crowell, who is 34, noted that he is still paying student loans.

Crowell unsuccessfully sought to increase the "Bright Flight" scholarship this year, a program that provides assistance to top students to study in Missouri.

The state needs to expand efforts to help students afford college, he said, and the universities need to take steps to control costs. Southeast's internal reviews should be copied across the state, Crowell said.

"Every university can't be everything to every student with every program on every campus," he said.

rkeller @semissourian.com

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