College panel talks tuition

• By JORDAN BLUM
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Oct 22, 2009 - Page: 1A

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Reprints
• Twitter
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

The desires to increase tuition and to cap the merit-based TOPS program highlighted discussions Wednesday as the state’s college leaders began discussing anticipated state budget cuts in the 2010-2011 school year and beyond.

Talks ranged from wanting the Legislature to give up tuition authority to a proposal to combine the state’s need-based “Go Grant” scholarship program with the better-funded Taylor Opportunity Program for Students.

Gov. Bobby Jindal has asked the legislatively created Louisiana Postsecondary Education Review Commission, which next meets Monday, to recommend how to cut $146 million from colleges for the 2010-2011 year.

Additional cuts are expected as the state’s budget shortfall is projected to hit $2 billion in 2012 with federal stimulus funds expiring. The state’s higher education budget was already cut by about 9 percent in June.

Because the state’s budget for TOPS has to increase each time tuition increases, several college leaders said TOPS must be separated from tuition. Louisiana is the only state that requires two-thirds legislative approval for tuition and fee increases.

“TOPS drives and dictates all of our discussions,” University of Louisiana System President Randy Moffett said.

Mike Gargano, LSU System vice president of student and academic support, said he wants to combine the TOPS and Go Grant resources.

TOPS is disproportionately funded higher with $130 million per year as opposed to $34 million for Go Grants, which go to low-income students, he said.

Gargano proposes capping TOPS around $2,000 or $3,000 per year and then giving qualified, financially needy students additional money. He said 38 percent of students getting TOPS are from families with incomes of $100,000 a year or more. That money, he said, should be going to students who need it in a very poor state.

“If we truly want to address poverty in Louisiana,” he said, “then we need a different strategy.”

LSU Chancellor Michael Martin said TOPS is great, but changes are needed.

“It has been a way to keep the best students,” Martin said.

Martin also talked about the necessity of increasing tuition and fees. He said colleges have cut most all of their budgetary fat the past couple years. So they now must either increase costs or eliminate a lot of academic programs.