The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    Higher enrollment adds to financial pressure

    It is no secret that Southeastern, and higher education in general, has been feeling the pressure of deep financial cuts for several years now; and with more students enrolling in colleges and universities, that pressure is likely to increase.
    This semester the university marked a 1.2 percent increase in student enrollment, bringing the total number of students enrolled in Southeastern classes to 15,602.
    Usually this would be marked as good news for the budget because more students means more tuition, which means more funds to help offset shortfalls. However, the group of students responsible for this increase does not pay tuition, at least not at the same rate as regular students.
    “An increase in headcount does not always result in an increase in revenue,” said Sam Domiano, interim vice president for administration and finances.  “For example, when we have an increase in the number of students enrolled in the high school dual enrollment program but a decrease in regularly enrolled students, our headcount enrollment will increase but the tuition dollars generated could actually decrease.  This is primarily due to the fact that the tuition for the high school dual enrollment program is structured differently than that of our regularly enrolled students.  While any increase in self-generated revenues would certainly help, it is not expected that any such trends would be significant enough to offset additional budget reductions.”
    In fact, the total number of students that pay full tuition to attend Southeastern has dropped. Also, due to the increases of tuition and admission standards under the GRAD Act, enrollment is expected to grow in this way for some time.
    “Our ‘traditional’ student enrollment was down slightly – as we had anticipated,” said President John L. Crain. “We believe this is due to higher admission standards and increased tuition rates. Because both admission standards and tuition rates are likely to continue increasing, I would anticipate this enrollment trend to continue.”
    The GRAD Act, enacted in 2010, grants additional autonomy to colleges and universities in setting tuition rates, allowing a five percent increase per-year granted that certain goals are met. In order to preserve this autonomy, campuses must constantly push for increased graduation and retention numbers, which encourages them to raise admission standards. The increases in tuition collections makes it easier for schools to make up for budget shortfalls, but can make paying for college difficult.
    However, because the GRAD Act applies to all colleges and universities within the state of Louisiana, Southeastern will remain relatively affordable compared to other schools.
    “As to the effect of the GRAD Act on our relative affordability, you have to remember that all colleges and universities in the state are raising their tuition at the same rate under the GRAD Act,” said Crain. “As a result, Southeastern’s relative affordability is not changing.”
    However, if the financial pressure continues to rise, the aspects of Southeastern that makes it unique and attractive to students, such as the low student-teacher ratio, will eventually be negatively impacted or disappear all together.
    “Regarding the student-teacher ratio, it is certainly true that the budget cuts can negatively affect that; however, we have worked very hard to minimize any negative impact on our students. We will continue to prioritize our students and will do everything possible to maintain the quality of the educational experience for our students.”
    Domiano and his department work very closely with budget units and academic departments to balance the university’s finances. According to Domiano, The University’s operating budget for fiscal year 2012-2013 is $109,728,161 and self-generated funds, such as student tuitions and fees, make up just under $70 million dollars of this amount; that’s over 60 percent.
    “Unless there were significant increases in specific areas, our ability to accommodate expansion would be a challenge for the University given the current budget environment,” said Domiano. “We have not received any official word on future budget reductions at this time; however, there has been speculation that future reductions, either mid-year or next fiscal year, could be possible.  At this time, we will have to wait for additional information.”

    Editor’s Note: This story has been updated from the printed version for the web.
     

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