Education cuts

The budget cut. It's a storm that those in higher education have been bracing for over the last several months. But fortunately the storm has subsided for the moment -- at least to some extent.

Gov. Jay Nixon has said his budget would cut higher education's funding by 7 percent for the upcoming fiscal year -- which amounts to about a $3.4 million cut to Southeast Missouri State University's budget.

Knowing that budget cuts were imminent, Southeast has been slashing expenses. University officials had prepared themselves for cuts as great as 15 to 20 percent, which they said would be crippling.

The university's solutions to managing the pending cuts are multifaceted.

Over the past 18 months, Southeast has reduced its instructional budget by 7 percent and its noninstructional budget by 8 percent. Employee benefit changes have also been an avenue for savings.

But budget cuts are not Southeast's only plan to address this issue. Enrollment growth will also play a role in minimizing the cut's impact. Southeast has seen remarkable enrollment increases over the past 11 years.

University president Ken Dobbins said recently that a 4 or 5 percent tuition increase could be on the table for the 2011-2012 school year. However, figured into any tuition increase will be the student fee increases to cover campus renovations.

It's never pleasant to make difficult cost-cutting decisions such as the ones Southeast has had to make. However, the university should be commended for being proactive.

As the saying goes, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. And the actions taken by the university should ensure that it remains a thriving institution for years to come.