Photo by Phil Diven/The Slate

PASSHE Chancellor Discusses Budget

By Carolyn Swift
News Editor

The chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education spent a day on the campus of Shippensburg University Friday, making it a point to address the current budgetary concerns of the campus community and the state system as a whole.

PASSHE Chancellor John Cavanaugh held separate forums for students and faculty during his visit, at which he stressed the need for private funding in order to maintain quality education within the system.

Although the education sector will receive some of Pennsylvania’s portion of federal stimulus funds, Cavanaugh said the stringent restrictions exclude the state system from receiving any of the funding, with most being allocated to K-12 education.

In addition, the 14 universities in the state system will begin the next fiscal year with the same amount of funding as this year, which Cavanaugh said is both beneficial and detrimental.

While Gov. Ed Rendell’s budget, which was proposed on Feb. 3, restores the 4.25 percent that was cut from this year’s budget and helps PASSHE universities to not start out in a deficit, it also requires the universities to rely more on outside funding to continue to offer the same quality of education, Cavanaugh said.

“In terms of inflation, state appropriation has gone down,” Cavanaugh said. “We’re continually operating on less money.”

While in the past the system has been able to continue to provide a high level of education, despite budget shortfalls, Cavanaugh said the lack of funding is starting to affect the quality of education within the system, increasing the search for outside funding sources.

One of the ways to obtain private funds is through the foundations present at each state system university, including the SU Foundation. Within the foundations, Cavanaugh said there is a big emphasis on securing funds for scholarships, which aid in attracting students to the universities.

Although the foundations are very effective, Cavanaugh said the state system is currently exploring other sources of funding to make up for budget shortfalls.

“Any area where we can make contracts legally for outside sponsorships, we are looking into,” Cavanaugh said.
Private funding is especially important for state system schools, as it has helped to keep tuition increases at or below the rate of inflation, continuing the system’s commitment to an affordable quality education, according to Cavanaugh. While PASSHE universities have been able to keep tuition costs down, Cavanaugh said he does not know what the increase will be in the upcoming year, as a lot will depend on the action of the state government.

Both Rendell and Sen. Jeffrey Piccola have tuition proposals on the table, but Cavanaugh said ultimately, the increase will depend on where the conversation is in July, when the PASSHE Board of Governors will vote on the increase. However, Cavanaugh said, the board remains mindful of the economic situation and the need to keep the tuition as low as possible.

In addition, Cavanaugh said the state system continues to provide state legislators with information on operating costs, funding history, student achievements and the academic quality of the system, in hopes of acquiring further state funding.

Student concerns were broad, as questions included inquiries of available funds for graduate scholarships, international studies and educational preparation, such as the Praxis Series, which is part of the license and certification process for teachers.

While Cavanaugh did his best to address the individual concerns, most of the subjects related back to the need for private funding.