Do Public Colleges Receive Sufficient Government Funding?

Parent Cafe
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<p>To what extent are high school graduates expected to be able to completely self-fund college on their own (now, not a generation ago), if they do not get full ride scholarships or some such? Ordinary college financial aid expects a family contribution (and don’t ignore the family contribution of letting the college student live at the parent’s house while attending school).</p>

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<p>In PA, the real state schools cost about $19K for tuition, room, and board and are struggling to fill all their seats with locals. Many PA residents would rather go to “state related” schools such as Penn State and U Pitt which come in at about ten grand more and they complain it’s too expensive. As to OP’s original question, my feeling is that just increasing funding in schools like Penn State will primarily lead to more bloated administration because as long as a school turns away students, what incentive is there to reduce tuition?</p>

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<p>VA supplies ~10% or less of the operating budget for UVA and W&M.</p>

<p>Why should the state get so much say over what happens at these schools, if the state does not provide sufficient funding?</p>

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<p><a href=“http://universityrelations.unc.edu/budget/content/FAQ.php#highereducation”>http://universityrelations.unc.edu/budget/content/FAQ.php#highereducation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>How does the State of North Carolina fund higher education?</p>

<p>"More than half of North Carolina’s $20 billion budget supports education (public schools, community colleges and universities). Funding to support the 17-campus University of North Carolina system is nearly $2.5 billion or 12 percent of the overall state budget.</p>

<p>The North Carolina General Assembly makes adjustments to the UNC system’s funding based on revenue estimates for the upcoming fiscal year. In times of strength, the North Carolina General Assembly may provide funding for expansion items like new programs, capital projects or salary increases for state employees. When revenues are lower, generally the state legislature is only able to support increases in student enrollment and requirements to open buildings or make contributions to the state retirement program.</p>

<p>Like the rest of the country, North Carolina faced significant budget challenges because of the global economic crisis that began in 2008. State leaders dealt with a revenue gap of $800 million in fiscal 2010-11, followed by a $2.4 billion deficit for fiscal 2011-12. In 2012-13, the budget remained relatively stable, with no significant new reductions in state appropriations for higher education. The cumulative budget shortfalls during the past several fiscal years have resulted in reductions to all state entities, including the 17-campus UNC system. Carolina has taken approximately $235 million in total state cuts since 2008."</p>

<p>Also:</p>

<p>“State appropriations and aid account for less than 20 percent of Carolina’s $2.4 billion operating budget. That support continued more than two centuries of investment in the University by Tar Heel taxpayers.”</p>

<p>^^^^This last statement reflects funding for UNC-Chapel Hill. The 17 campuses receive different funding from each other, each campus charges different amounts for tuition, fees and room and board. Our local CC, one of the largest charges $50 per credit unit and most classes transfer within the 17 campus system.</p>

<p>The undergraduate charges are low but the grad fees especially for the professional schools is were the real bargains are at. Son’s med school tuition his first year was $14,000 for the year. It has increased over time and his MS4 is up to $19,500.</p>

<p>Kat</p>