Higher Education Commissioner Dr. Kim Hunter Reed tells lawmakers that state funding for universities and colleges is not where it needs to be, as regional institutions in particular are struggling. Reed is calling on legislators to provide at least an additional $119 million in state funding for higher education.
“We have to make sure that campuses are aggressive in overseeing their finances, management boards are aggressive in oversight, but I’m not going to sugarcoat it; we definitely have some institutions that are challenged,” Reed said.
Reed says higher education is $869 million dollars short of being fully funded. And that’s despite the closure of hundreds of programs. She says there are several reasons why regional schools are struggling — inflation and enrollment dips can throw off their budgets.
“So, if people are deciding not to enroll, or less people are enrolling, or if you have hurricanes or storms, then the ebbs and flows are very significant. And they greatly impact the institutions,” Reed explained.
Reed also points out that in 2009, 59% of higher education’s funding came from state funding. Now it’s down to 26%. Money from tuition makes up 60% of the funding for higher education; so when enrollment goes down, so do revenues.
Reed says institutions are also feeling the pressure because athletic expenses are increasing.
“NIL and revenue share and athletic budgets, etc. So you have a perfect storm in many of these places that are putting significant pressure on the finances of the institution,” Reed noted.
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