General Fee Needs to be Rebalanced

(The following appeared as a “Guest Commentary” in The Post on Friday, March 4, 2011.)

It is a great disappointment that Student Senate voted against the idea of rebalancing the amounts that students pay for tuition and the General Fee (Thursday’s Post).

It is clear that students value their comprehensive experience at Ohio University.  However, I suspect that student senators who cast their votes on Wednesday evening might not have been aware that there will be significant changes in the way the University calculates budget cuts this year.  In the future, cuts from state support will only affect academics and academic administration, not fee-supported activities like Athletics and Student Affairs.  These changes are related to the implementation of a new budgeting methodology known as Responsibility Centered Management or “RCM.”

Ohio University is currently planning for a loss of approximately $27M in State Share of Instruction next year.  We will know for sure after the governor announces his budget on March 15.  The loss in state support could, in all likelihood, be larger.

Under an RCM system, that loss in revenue will be counted as a cut to the academic colleges.  The amount of money that those colleges pay as an overhead “tax” for the services they receive from many of the academic support units will also decrease because they will be making less money.  One budget draft estimates a $19M loss to the academic units and a $7M loss to support units.  This difference, despite the talent and dedication of faculty and staff, will obviously impact the quality of each student’s academic experience and an Ohio University degree.  Classes will be bigger, faculty will have less time per student, and, for those faculty who stay at Ohio University, their research will necessarily move to the back burner.   If students no longer have access to faculty engaged in research and creative activity, their money may be better spent at a community college or the University of Phoenix.

Meanwhile, those units supported by the General Fee, namely Intercollegiate Athletics and Student Affairs, will suffer no loss in revenue.  Any money that they save due to University cost-saving initiatives like the staff buyout would stay in those units.  As a result, the academic colleges will face cuts of 10-14%, academic support units such as the Provost’s Office and the Library will face 8-9% cuts, while General Fee supported units will not be cut.  Indeed, if the University decides to charge any increases in tuition and the general fee, tuition increases will marginally lessen the impact of deep cuts, while general fee increases will give ICA and Student Affairs a windfall.

This is why the Faculty Senate representatives on the Budget Planning Council are unanimous in believing that the University must rebalance the amounts it charges students for tuition and the general fee. The current balance evolved in an era of relatively strong state support for higher education.  But with the expected decline of the State’s contribution to Ohio University, the traditional balance must be reset to manage the challenges of our new environment.   Indeed, a careful rebalancing would go a long way in helping us protect the core academic mission without the sort of massive tuition increases currently underway in other states

It costs $117 per year more to attend Ohio University than Ohio State University.  However, OU students currently pay $597 less per year in tuition—the cost that directly supports the academic life of the University.

I understand that student leaders value Athletics and student programming.  I hope they also value academic quality and understand the meaning of shared sacrifice.   The only “responsible” thing to do in this situation is to rebalance, such that general fee supported units reduce their budgets in a manner that is, at the very least, commensurate with those who deliver education.

The President is scheduled to release the first draft of a budget on March 28 and a revised budget on April 18.  I implore Student Senate to reconsider this issue between now and then.