Chancellor Randy Woodson addressed Gov. Pat McCrory’s proposed budget at the faculty senate meeting Tuesday. McCrory’s budget, if implemented, would cut $139 million from the UNC System, in addition to other one-time cuts in the first two years. Woodson expounded on the good and bad while hinting at the ugly during the meeting.
We shall begin, as did Woodson, by reminding our audience that the governor’s proposed budget is just that — a proposal. As the chancellor put it, “The General Assembly does what [it] wants to do.” One might argue that much of the outrage over the budget is irrational and speculative in nature, but let’s keep in mind that McCrory is working with a Republican legislature, too.
By the time the North Carolina legislature drafts its final budget, it may look a bit different from the governor’s, but probably not too much.
The good
Chancellor Woodson, showing symptoms of optimism, began his talk at the Faculty Senate meeting with the good news. The governor’s budget would fully fund enrollment growth. “That’s about $50 million to the system,” Woodson added. Graduate student enrollment is where most of those funds would be allocated. And that’s a nice change, because, as Woodson noted, “We’ve not been completely funded in enrollment growth for a few years now.”
A growth plan approved by the chancellor and Provost Warwick Arden last year projects student enrollment — now at about 34,000 — will grow to 37,000 by 2020. According to a University press release, much of that growth will be in graduate and doctoral programs.
And that concludes the good news.
The bad
The UNC System will have to say goodbye to $139 million, or 5.56 percent of its total budget it uses to operate the universities. Additionally, the proposed budget will subject universities to non-recurring costs in the next two years totaling another $73.6 million in cash that would go back to the General Assembly.
To “absorb” some of the blow from the cuts — though we think it would only exacerbate the situation, as does Woodson — the governor proposed a 12.3 percent increase of out-of-state tuition. That is “above and beyond” what the Board of Governors approved.
Most of N.C. State’s out-of-state students are graduate students. So the proposed funding for enrollment growth makes less sense if the University is not able to attract graduate students outside of North Carolina. And let’s face it, we’re not the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The reason why people come to N.C. State is because of the quality — and affordability — of the education system.
That’s nothing to sniff at.
N.C. State’s commitment to out-of-state students is part of the reason the Triangle is one of the fastest growing areas in the nation. The out-of-state and international students who earn graduate degrees from UNC System schools keep Triangle-area businesses more than happy or start businesses of their own. Losing them would hamper economic growth in North Carolina.
Woodson also expressed concern for a decrease in the repair and renovation budget. “We’ve got a lot of deferred maintenance on our campus,” Woodson said. But of McCrory’s $300 million of R&R funds, only $50 million would go to UNC System schools. This is not a favorable change because, as Woodson noted, the UNC System is used to receiving 50 percent of the total R&R budget.
It could have been ugly
Woodson continually reminded the Faculty Senate that the proposed budget could have been much worse. He mentioned that there was talk of the governor considering a surcharge on the tuition of international students, which was not included in the budget, thanks to lobbying on behalf of the Office of the Chancellor. That surcharge would have further hindered industries in the Triangle.
Woodson and his friends in the private sector (influential people at SAS and IBM, etc.) badgered the governor during his final week of drafting the budget. And for that we applaud Chancellor Randy Woodson. After being badgered, McCrory asked, as Woodson recounted, “How many people are you going to have call me, Randy?”
Although some of the grimier parts of the budget may be worked out in the wash, it’s important to keep a wary eye on McCrory and the N.C. legislators. N.C. Student Power Union will be demonstrating on April 15 and May 1 to urge the General Assembly to create a better budget, and you should go. Randy Woodson is a powerful man, but changing the minds of the McCrory & Co. will require several more strong voices.
