Higher education funding cut by 2% more

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Governor Mitch Daniels is cutting funding for higher education, again.

Another month of lower-than-expected state revenue prompted the cuts.

This time, Daniels is ordering an across-the-board reduction of $150 million in General Fund support for colleges and universities over the remainder of the budget cycle.

He says that translates into a decrease of 2% of the institutions' total revenue.

Purdue is expected to release a statement this afternoon about how it plans to respond to the Governor's announcement.

The Commission on Higher Education will work with each state-supported institution to determine its share of the cut.

Purdue officials have told the governor that the university will support his call for further belt-tightening.

"We understand the challenges facing our state," said Purdue President France A. Córdova. "We already have started to take steps to decrease expenditures in a strategic way that will maintain the value of our Purdue degree. This new challenge will be added to those efforts."

In November, Purdue announced it would look to cut $30 million in recurring expenditures from the West Lafayette campus general fund, an operating budget that for this academic year is $873 million.

"If we exclude instructional costs and mandatory costs such as utilities, debt service and benefits, the $30 million amounts to an 8 to 10 percent cut in the remainder of that operating account," said Al Diaz, executive vice president for business and finance, treasurer.

The general fund is the portion of the budget that supports the university's academic activities. Its funding comes primarily from state operating appropriations and student fees.

Reductions would not be made in the remainder of the budget for the West Lafayette campus, Diaz said, because it includes sponsored research funding and self-supporting enterprises such as University Residences and Intercollegiate Athletics.

Earlier in 2009, as the state of Indiana has faced declining revenues, Purdue made across-the-board cuts, cut positions, curtailed hiring and travel, and withheld pay increases.

"These steps helped us in the short run, but they cannot be sustained on a recurring basis if we are to maintain the quality of our academic programs and the progress toward our strategic plan goals," Diaz said. "We will now look for more systemic, long-term actions. We will examine all aspects of the university's operations, including academic programs, administrative operations and employee total compensation. We will explore all possible ways to ensure that our processes, practices, organizational structure and systems are both efficient and effective."

A Web site at http://www.purdue.edu/sustaining includes reports and updates and provides a way for members of the university community to offer suggestions.

Diaz said a detailed plan and criteria for meeting these challenges will be developed by mid-January, and any actions that would require Board of Trustees approval must be ready in time for its February meeting. Some decisions will take effect in the coming months. All will be factored into budget planning for the next biennium.