The Griffon News

Turn on the radio; tune in a news talk show and within twenty minutes there will be a reference to the rising cost of higher education.

Despite the buzz amongst the masses there may be a new ray of hope dawning for the universities and colleges of Missouri. The state funding for Western, along with all of Missouri higher education potentially could return to times of stronger financial comfort.

Governor Matt Blunt and the Missouri state legislature face a decision as whether to approve a unified proposed budget by the Coordinating Board for Higher Education. While financial woes may be fact of life and prices for commodities, like gasoline, electricity and water may be steadily rising, the states support of its higher education has been increasingly declining, which often forces institutions to raise tuition. Just this year, Missouri Western State University had to raise its tuition after three years of operating on a shoe-string budget.

Beth Wheeler, director of external affairs at Western, is a cornucopia of helpful information when it comes to unraveling the Gordian knot of Missouri Higher Education Equity Funding.

“There are about five schools in Missouri that are below average in state funding,” Wheeler said. “Missouri Western is one of them.”

The ray of hope comes in the proposed budget before the state legislature. Jim Scanlon, President of the Western Institute, feels a positive change may be in waiting.

“We have a request to the government for essentially a $3.5 million increase,” Scanlon said. “That is a 16 percent increase for us, that would be very positive.”

Ron Olinger, vice president of the Western Institute, sees the potential for good fortune as well.

“This year we are looking at trying to recover that level of funding we had back in 2002,” Olinger said.

The funding for higher education took a turn in 1984, changing from a credit hour basis to a core plus cost to continue basis.

“The state said, ‘Ok freeze, this is how we are going to do it now,’ ” Wheeler said. “ ‘You got this much money last year, next year you will get this much plus a small percentage more.’ ”

“We were a very young institution at that time when the funds were set,” Wheeler said. “The flat base amount has not kept up with the growth in credit hours.”

Without the strong state support, there is also the lack of a fiscal plan for higher education.

“Correctional facilities, Medicare and higher education all fall under the same kind of funding, general appropriations,” Olinger said. “K-12 has a formula for funding, when budget time comes around, K-12 gets their funding, and higher education gets thrown into the mix. There is no direct formula at this point for funding higher education.”