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Frohnmayer right about state funding to a point
Editorial
by Emerald Editorial Board |
The worst kept secret among students and staff alike at the University goes something like this: The amount of funding allotted to the University by the state is wholly inadequate. This fact served as the backdrop for President Dave Frohnmayer's ultimatum to the Oregon State Board of Higher Education earlier this month. If the board doesn't work with the state to bring more funding the University's way, he and University officials will ask for a greater level of autonomy in working with what funding it has.
Frohnmayer has a point: Statistics indicate that, indeed, the University should be receiving public funds at a rate far greater than what it currently does. This is based on a school-by-school comparison with other public universities across the nation.
In making his case, Frohnmayer pointed to state schools in North Carolina, Iowa, Washington, Michigan and Virginia - each of them comparable in size and structure to that of the University. The five schools received an average of $319 million in state funds for the 2006-07 school year. The University, by contrast, received just $69 million - one-fifth of what was allocated to the other schools.
Additionally, whereas those five other states offered an average of $10,036 in public funds per student, Oregon offered a meager $3,232 by comparison. This lack of support from the state has forced Frohnmayer to look elsewhere for funds. And nowhere has this been more apparent than in the rising cost of tuition for students.
As it currently stands, Oregon residents attending the University this year will pay approximately $6,174 on tuition; this is based on an average 15-credit academic term for a three-term school year. Out-of-state students will pay approximately $19,338 for the 2007-08 school year. Neither of these figures takes into account the added cost of room and board. Unless drastic changes are made by the State Board of Higher Education and the Oregon University System, Frohnmayer's hand will be forced, and incoming students will have to split the difference as a result.
Frohnmayer has a point: Statistics indicate that, indeed, the University should be receiving public funds at a rate far greater than what it currently does. This is based on a school-by-school comparison with other public universities across the nation.
In making his case, Frohnmayer pointed to state schools in North Carolina, Iowa, Washington, Michigan and Virginia - each of them comparable in size and structure to that of the University. The five schools received an average of $319 million in state funds for the 2006-07 school year. The University, by contrast, received just $69 million - one-fifth of what was allocated to the other schools.
Additionally, whereas those five other states offered an average of $10,036 in public funds per student, Oregon offered a meager $3,232 by comparison. This lack of support from the state has forced Frohnmayer to look elsewhere for funds. And nowhere has this been more apparent than in the rising cost of tuition for students.
As it currently stands, Oregon residents attending the University this year will pay approximately $6,174 on tuition; this is based on an average 15-credit academic term for a three-term school year. Out-of-state students will pay approximately $19,338 for the 2007-08 school year. Neither of these figures takes into account the added cost of room and board. Unless drastic changes are made by the State Board of Higher Education and the Oregon University System, Frohnmayer's hand will be forced, and incoming students will have to split the difference as a result.
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