Ball State has improved graduation rates and improved efficiency, university officials told lawmakers Tuesday as they gave reasons why the university should not see its state funding cut by $13.5 million.
"We think we've been doing what the state has asked us to do," Randy Howard, vice president for business affairs and treasurer at Ball State, said.
Howard boasted a number of triumphs Ball State has seen in the past 10 years in hopes of convincing state leaders not to strip funding from Ball State, which already cut this year's budget by $7.5 million.
"I think the state is interested in getting Hoosiers a quality and relevant education, improving the state's economy and using limited resources as efficiently as possible," Howard said. "We keep hearing that the state thinks we've been making great strides in these areas, but when it comes to funding we lag in the state average for growth in funding."
Howard said state funding for Ball State has increased by only .4 percent in the past 10 years, whereas funding for other state universities has increased by more than 1 percent during the same time frame.
Among other reasons for state lawmakers to support Ball State, Howard cited the school's more than 10 percent increase in enrollment and the best four-year graduation rate of any state school in Indiana over the past decade.
Howard said for the most part, the formula the state uses to evaluate higher education performance is the reason for Ball State's loss of funding even when the school seems to be performing well.
When evaluating Indiana's public colleges and universities, the state looks at two one-year time periods over a short term, which is the reason, Howard said, that Ball State is seen by the state in a negative light.
Howard also put emphasis on recognition Ball State recently received as a High U.S. Research University by the Carnegie Foundation, a merit that is inspiring proposed legislation from Muncie's District State Representative, Dennis Tyler.
"I've got a bill to increase Ball State funding in accordance to the funding formula they have for a research university," Tyler said. "That would give them another $177 thousand."
Indiana University Bloomington, Purdue West Lafayette and IUPUI Indianapolis have also all been recognized by the Carnegie Foundation and have been allowed by the state of Indiana to participate in a program that allows for them to receive additional state funds because of that classification, according to Howard.
Ball State in the past has not been allowed to participate in this program because they fell in the lowest tier of the three Carnegie Foundation research university rankings. IUPUI has ranked for some time in the second tier of the ranking system with IU and Purdue ranking in the top tier.
Howard said Ball State moved up to the second tier of the foundation's rankings before the state made budget recommendations and therefore hasn't been taken into account when considering funds deserved by Ball State. Howard estimated inclusion in the program along with IUPUI, IU and Purdue would mean more than $400,000 extra dollars for Ball State along with the philosophical recognition that the title creates.
"We are concerned that if the current recommendations go forward and our funding continues to erode, that it will jeopardize our ability to make these great strides and results," Howard said.
Howard's Reasons BSU deserves funding
- 90 percent of BSU students are HoosiersBSU enrollment has increase by more than 10 percent since 2006
- Chronicle of Higher Education ranked BSU 6th highest in long-term improvement amongst national research universities
- U.S. News & World Report ranks BSU 20th among "up-and-coming" colleges and universities for 2010
- Staff per 100 Students is 12.3 percent below state average and 26 percent below national average
First portion of Howard's Speech:
"As a public university we really take our responsibility to the taxpayers of Indiana very seriously and we think we've been doing what the state has asked us to do. I could talk about lots of examples today, but I really want to boil it down to three essentials.
"I think the state is interested in getting Hoosiers a quality and relevant education, improving the state's economy and using limited resources as efficiently as possible. We keep hearing that the state thinks we've been making great strides in these areas, but when it comes to funding we lag the state average for growth in funding.
"Now why is this so important to us? As you know, Ball State University is very results-focused. We have a strategic plan with over 100 measurable outcomes that we track and we are concerned that if the current recommendations go forward and our funding continues to erode, it will jeopardize our ability to make these great strides and results.
"In terms of the first broad area of alignment, I think the state is interested in getting students into college, graduating them from college and then making sure they have the type of education that will afford them a job when they graduate.
"Ball State has differentiated itself from other universities in the state of Indiana and we are primarily focusing on a high-quality undergraduate education experience."
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