The House Finance Committee heard two presentations regarding the financial standing of higher education institutions in its Monday meeting.
Carolyn Long, the Interim Chancellor of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC), presented an appropriation request for the fiscal year of 2020. The presentation, which asked for about $13.5 million for student-focused funding, aims to increase the competitive edge of West Virginia higher education institutions as well as alleviate the cost to students across the state.
“We are here today to advocate for reinvestment in our state’s college education programs,” Long said.
Long said the HEPC understands cuts made to higher education in the past years were warranted but now that the state is in an economic upswing, they want to address financial problems colleges are experiencing.
Long said although the Southern Regional Education Board sees their students pay around 58.7 percent of their educational costs, West Virginia students must bear 72.3 percent of their educational costs. Additionally, enrollment has decreased 0.2 percent since 2016. Under the West Virginia CLIMB program, the HEPC wants to equip 60 percent of West Virginians with a certificate or degree by the year 2030. Their budget request accounted for this proposal.
The HEPC provided three different funding models, per the Legislature’s request last year. Each funding model presented to the committee for consideration used a different metric to allot different rates of state appropriations to each state school. The budget also resided within Gov. Jim Justice’s budget recommendations.
The HEPC has concerns over a funding mechanism – or what Long said is a lack of one. Long said there are currently “no objective means” to dictate how much money goes to any particular higher education institution within the state.
Although the funding mechanisms presented by HEPC solved for the lack of a current, streamlined formula, some delegates questioned the repercussions of the quantitative nature of the models.
“I would hope that the formula we choose takes into consideration the socioeconomic factors of each school,” Delegate Brent Boggs, D-Braxton, said. “I think we all want to strive for equity when it comes to funding, but we have to be very careful to ensure no region of West Virginia gets left behind.”
Sarah Armstrong Tucker, chancellor of the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education, also addressed the finance committee Monday. Tucker outlined the community college system, its functions and its budgetary recommendations for the 2020 fiscal year.
The West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College requested $5 million for deferred maintenance, $7 million for student tuition for qualifying students, and $5 million to fund the Student Support and College Completion Initiative.
Tucker emphasized the return on investment that community and technical schools bring to the state. She said 92 percent of students attending a community of technical school are from West Virginia, and 71 percent of graduating students work in state after graduation.
Tucker said that community and technical schools, while integral to the state for preparing the workforce, have also been affected by education cuts. She said 127 programs have been cut since 2013, and a lot of schools have to share administrators in order to economize.
“A lot of our students are adults who attend college part time,” Tucker said. “This is what our students look like, and this is what our workforce looks like. We need to help to ensure their success.”
