<p>If universities went on “a diet” it would have to be on a nearly nationwide basis, otherwise a particular state’s colleges would lose position and reputation compared to other states and it would hurt the economy of that state. If we could do it nationwide, colleges could perhaps let maintenance slide, (crumbling buildings and no more finely manicured quads), eliminate rec centers and probably cut other non-academic depts like student organization support. I somehow don’t think this is going to happen. Colleges have gotten more expensive mostly because of the loss of state dollars. Now people are saying we should withdraw even more state money because colleges have gotten more expensive?! Does not make sense to me.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the interest rate on federal loans for all colleges is about to double, starting in July. </p>
<p>If the Governor wants to reform the university system and install financial restraint, there are more intelligent ways of doing it. Universities can be rewarded with more funding or penalized with less funding depending upon how they control expenses, keep tuition rates low and meet needs of the employment market. Instead, the Guv is just slashing everything by 50% over 2 years without giving anyone time to adjust.</p>
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Increased revenues? Is that double speak for new/more taxes? Very considerate of the PA unions to help find funding for their own jobs by suggesting more taxes on…other people.
OMG!!! The terrible news media is involved in a conspiracy with a Republican Governor to deceive PA voters. Clearly the reputation the media generally has of being liberally biased has been dis-proven by their actions in this matter.
Uh yah right…“cost savings”</p>
<p>[Penn</a> State, Pitt, Temple Defend Need for State Funding at Hearing - Democratic Underground](<a href=“http://www.democraticunderground.com/1074608]Penn”>http://www.democraticunderground.com/1074608)</p>
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<p>Excess huh? Where? I love people throwing this out there that obviously have no experience in academia. You know what the number one expense is for any college? Salary and benefits. Do you know what faculty and staff in academia actually make? It is, almost universally, substantially less than their counterparts in private industry.</p>
<p>Here’s the reality. Higher education is a extremely human, service-oriented industry that requires the most highly educated and trained individuals in society. You want to know why the rate of higher education inflation outstrips general inflation? What does general inflation measure? The consumer price index. You can’t outsource university positions to China and India like you can a t-shirt factory, and you can’t hire cheap immigrant labor to work in your classrooms like you can if you are growing corn.</p>
<p>[Pitt’s</a> Board of Trustees discusses budget cuts | The Pitt News](<a href=“http://pittnews.com/newsstory/pitts-board-of-trustees-discusses-budget-cuts/]Pitt’s”>Pitt's Board of Trustees discusses budget cuts - The Pitt News)</p>
<p>Excerpt:</p>
<p>"Chancellor Nordenberg said to the Board that the University gave the state “the highest return on their investment,” pointing to the $800 million in research grants awarded to the University, and 28,000 jobs that Pitt creates in Western Pennsylvania. He urged the state government not to cut Pitt’s funding.</p>
<p>On Feb. 8, Gov. Tom Corbett proposed a 30 percent cut in state appropriations for the next fiscal year to three of the four state-related universities – Pitt, Temple and Penn State. Last year, Corbett proposed a 50 percent cut in state funding to the state-related universities, but the state passed the budget in June with a 19 percent cut.</p>
<p>The Board went so far as to adopt a resolution that they plan to deliver to Corbett and leading members of both houses of the general assembly from both parties in protest of the proposed cuts. The resolution expresses the Board’s intent to work with “alumni, faculty, staff, students and other friends of the University” to fight against the cuts.</p>
<p>Nordenberg said that if Corbett’s proposed cuts go through, the University’s state funding would be equal to what it was in 1987, while the state budget has tripled in that time span. The funding would also be at the lowest levels adjusted for inflation since the University became state-related school in 1966. “We’re not travelling the path to becoming a private university voluntarily. With each cut, we’re becoming less public and more private,” he said."</p>
<p>Oh well. So Pitt, PSU and Temple eventually become private. What difference does it make?</p>
<p>*For starters, a minimum of about a $10K in tuition increases for Pennsylvania students. Similar universities to Pitt, that are urban and private, such as Boston University, USC, Northeastern, or Tulane, charge upwards of $40K compared to Pitt’s $26,800 and PSU’s $27,206 (out-of-state) sticker prices.</p>
<p>*Likely on Penn State’s side, a loss or role back in scope of its 19 branch campuses. For Pitt, its four branches would have to be looked at closely as well. Result=loss of jobs and loss of important economic cogs for many small, rural municipalities.</p>
<p>*Decreased enrollment resulting possibly in decreased admission quality, probably for all three, likely impacting the real and perceived quality of the schools. All three are national universities competing on a national stage for students, faculty and research dollars. A decrease in student demand due to higher tuition rates will result in less tuition income and and a drop in the competitiveness of the institutions’ ability to retain top faculty and researchers. All of which could resulting in a loss of jobs not just for operational staff, but also negatively impact the import of extramural research funding, which in just Pitt’s case, supports about 28,000 jobs in Pittsburgh. </p>
<p>*More students seeking educational opportunities out of state, and business that rely on highly trained workforces following them (instead of locating in Pittsburgh like Cellomics or the RAND institute did). Out-of-state schools aren’t as likely to have internship and co-op opportunities in Pennsylvania either, increasing the likelihood that top students from middle to low income families never return to Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>Will all these things happen and how severe of an impact will these possible scenarios unfold with? Who knows. For sure, the result would be that there will be zero public research universities for the citizens of Pennsylvania to be educated at, meaning no research institution-based education and training with costs that are recognizable in any other US state. Even the conservative bastion of Texas supplies twice as much of UT’s budget as PA does for Pitt and Penn State, and that will 3X as much if proposed cuts are passed (not to mention, over the years Texas created the nation’s largest public school endowments for UT and Texas A&M).</p>
<p>The University Presidents stressed they do not want to become private - but Corbett’s budgets are forcing them in that direction. </p>
<p>Why should they offer a big subsidy in tuition to in-state students if the State is not providing them with funding? They might as well increase the tuition to $26,000 or more per year for everyone. Pitt and Penn State could fill their classes at their main campuses with students paying $26K a year (plus room and board) if they wanted to - especially for high demand majors such as business, sciences, nursing and engineering. However, out of state students will not pay for branch campuses - so if funding is removed, many of them could be shut down. </p>
<p>Corbett and his advisors have said several times that he would like to eliminate all state funding to state-owned and state-related universities, and instead just ofer need-based grants to students to attend any college. It is basically a voucher system. However, he is also cutting those need-based grants.</p>
<p>What about the actual PA state universities like IUP and Slippery Rock? Are you suggesting they are second rate?
[Welcome</a> to the PA State System of Higher Education](<a href=“http://www.passhe.edu/Pages/default.aspx]Welcome”>Home | PA State System of Higher Education)
Certainly they could use PSU, Pitt and Temples funding to become public research universities. State taxpayers receive the secondary education options they are willing to support (pay for).</p>
<p>The funny thing about Pennsylvania schools is that if you were to ask someone from one or two states away to name the Pennsylvania state schools, very few would name anything other than Penn State. I doubt that any of the true state schools would be mentioned and maybe Pitt would make the list. Yet Penn State and Pitt are state supported. Pennsylvania schools that pay way more than is typical of true state schools give more to the state of Pennsylvania than they get, IMO.</p>
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Agreed. PSU definitely benefited from being one of the Land-grant Universities and the name that came with it. Never the less…it is not THE state university of PA.</p>
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<p>There are quite a few people out there that think Pitt is private, like Boston University or the University of Miami. Perhaps also because it was private for 179 years.</p>
<p>I have had a few people mix up Pitt and Penn, which is also amusing.</p>
<p>For those that are interested, Pitt has created a new website called [KEEP</a> PITT PUBLIC](<a href=“http://www.keeppittpublic.pitt.edu/]KEEP”>http://www.keeppittpublic.pitt.edu/).</p>
<p>Hi. My daugher was offered an Honors Scholarship - worth full tuition - starting fall 2012. Will this scholarship be in jeopardy with this big tax cut. We are from out-of-state so this really is important to us.</p>
<p>Don’t worry - they can’t take it back once it’s offered. It’s for all four years and we were told that the money comes from an endowment. Of course they may reduce offers for new students in the future - one never knows.</p>
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<p>Also, if you got a “full tuition” scholarship (i.e. that statement, not a number, like $10k or something) it will fluctuate as tuition fluctuates, which is nice.</p>
<p>How susceptible is Pitt to state budget cuts? It was private for so long, it has around a $2 billion endowment, and less than 10% of its budget relies on state funding. To put it this way, will there be a noticeable change in classes/resources/opportunities/etc. that would be felt by the students and faculty?</p>
<p>The state funding is critical to keeping undergrad in-state tuition reasonable. If the Governor succeeds in cutting state funding by 50% over 2 years, Pitt will have much more incentive to recruit more out of state students, and will have to push up in-state tuition. The market probably will not let them significantly increase out of state tuition.</p>