President John L. Crain’s office released a message to the university in response to the unveiling of the State of Louisiana’s Executive Budget, which is the proposed operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The message, dated March 31, discussed potential hazards to the university’s budget, but also proposed solutions. Crain discussed his opinions regarding these hazards and solutions some time after the publication of the message with The Lion’s Roar.
Crain’s greatest concern is the loss of federal funding, which, combined with the already staggering loss of state funding, could cripple the university.
“The current fiscal year budget includes ARRA, or federal stimulus funds, of about $16.3 million,” said Crain. “That represents a very significant amount of money in our budget and is actually about the same amount as the total of all of the budget cuts to date. It would be devastating to lose those funds without being able to replace the resources from some other source.”
According to Crain, the proposed budget for next year does replace the lost federal resources with other funds. However, the school’s budget anticipates three courses of action that could be taken to lessen the burden on the campus’ budget. Two of these actions will directly affect higher education in Louisiana.
The first change would allow colleges and universities to charge for student enrollment above 12 credit hours, up to 15 credit hours, which could generate an estimated $6 to $6.5 million for the university.
“This proposal doesn’t affect how many hours students are allowed to take, it strictly changes the way tuition is calculated,” said Crain. “If approved, the change would require students to pay for the first 15 credit hours. At present students pay for the first 12 credit hours.”
The second reaction to the budget would be to increase tuition levels, a previously approved operational fee paid by students. If it occurs, this tuition raise could generate $1 million for the university.
Under the Louisiana constitution, these proposals are dependent upon the approval of 2/3 majority of the Louisiana Legislature. Crain stated in his message to the university that considering last year’s LA GRAD Act, legislation already created approval to increase tuition annually over the next several years making any further increases to tuition unlikely. However, should these propositions come to fruition, times might get tougher for students.
“Unfortunately, for many students their education would cost more,” said Crain. “We are never excited about the prospect of increasing the cost of education for our students. I doubt the students will be pleased about it either. Even if all of the proposed changes are approved, Southeastern’s cost of attendance will still be very low by comparison with other similar institutions.”
While Crain expressed concern he also remarked on the fluidity of Southeastern’s financial position.
“The bottom line for Southeastern, and all of higher education, is that the outcome of the budget process is far from certain,” stated Crain. “Although the proposed Executive Budget is an important first step, many extremely important aspects of the budget for next year will have to play out through the upcoming legislative process that will not conclude until this summer.