Members of the University community had an opportunity yesterday to present suggestions concerning budget, tuition, fees, and housing and dining charges to the Board of Governors before they appropriate funds for the 2008-09 budget.
The meeting, which was hosted by the Board of Governors Committee on Educational Planning and Policy and the Committee on Budget and Finance, took place in the Multipurpose Room of the Rutgers Student Center on the College Avenue campus and was open to the public.
"As has so often been the case in recent years at Rutgers, we're looking at a tough budget from the State of New Jersey," University President Richard L. McCormick said at the meeting. "On the heels of previous difficult years, [the proposed cut of $38 million is] a tough one. It will require a tuition and fee increase of some sort."
With Gov. Jon S. Corzine's recommendation for the 2009 state operating budget cut of almost $38 million, or 11.6 percent, the University is facing further tuition increases and academic cutbacks. In total, higher education in the state will be cut by 3.5 percent.
New Jersey funding for higher education has decreased by 0.3 percent between 2005-06 and 2007-08 compared to the national average increase of 16.2 percent, according to Rutgers Institutional Research based on data from the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University, as published in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Vice President for University Budgeting Nancy Winterbauer said with the recommendation for next year's budget, the University's budget from the state will be less than it was 11 years ago and the board has been struggling with how much to raise tuition and fees.
"New Jersey has the unfortunate distinction of being the only state in the country that in fact cut its appropriations to higher education over the last two years," Winterbauer said. "We're very concerned about the ability of our units to absorb that magnitude of a cut and still provide the programs and services that students really want and require."
Chair of Budget and Finance Les Goodman said open hearings are held in order to gather input from the community to be given to the BOG for deliberations concerning the necessary increases as a result of the state budget cuts.
"Raising tuition is difficult," McCormick said. "Rutgers tuition is already relatively high compared to other public research universities in the country. Fortunately, the amount of financial aid we are able to award our students is also relatively high, but we know full well it's not enough. It's never enough."
Concerned students addressed the board and asked them to take into consideration the effect of a tuition increase for out-of-state students as well as nontraditional students of University College.
Rutgers University Student Assembly President Jim Kline, a Rutgers College senior, addressed the board on behalf of the University student body.
"We must explore other alternatives to annual rapid tuition increases," Kline said. "I strongly urge you all to aim for less of an increase in tuition, as compared to previous years - hopefully between four and six percent."
Kline suggested the board make sure services that will directly affect students, such as computer lab and library hours, academic support, public safety and health services, be taken carefully into concern when deciding what cuts to make.
He said since he has been a student at the University, his tuition has increased a total of 25 percent, or an average of $1,748.
Kline and members of the student assembly are collaborating with student representatives from schools across the state to advocate for more state funding for higher education. They have lobbied in Trenton to the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education and at the New Jersey Senate Budget and Assembly Budget Committee hearings to voice their concerns and suggestions.
"Everything that has been said here today really needs to be said in Trenton and told to the governor," said RUSA Student Rep. to the BOG Margaret Coppolo, a Douglass College junior. "We're really pushing for students to start meeting with their legislators, to call them and engage them personally, and get involved and ask questions."
Coppolo has been working closely with Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Philip J. Furmanski to provide student input during the budget process.
BOG chair of Educational Planning and Policy Duncan MacMillan said the University must raise more private funding, as it is the only source of funds other than tuition payments and state aid.
"We hope we can raise the money so that down the road, we won't have the need to raise tuition so much," MacMillan said.
