Michelle Norton
Staff Writer
Projected base enrollment numbers at the University of Houston may create a distorted picture for fiscal year state-funding.
To develop a budget for the university every two years, the state collects enrollment figures based on a census that is taken in what is known as the "base" year.
Enrollment figures will be collected beginning in the summer of 1998 through the spring of 1999. The state will then determine the budget based on a formula for the fiscal year 2000-2001.
Enrollment figures for the fall of 1998 already look high, said Susan Zwieg, director of student outreach services.
"The university is having no problems obtaining high numbers for incoming freshmen."
Ed Apodaca, associate vice president for enrollment management, projected 32,200 students for next fall, an increase of 598 students from 1997.
This may not be sufficient enough increase, however, to offset the recent loss of money budgeted to higher-level students, said Director of the Office of Planning and Policy Analysis Lorne Kuffel.
"Doctoral students with over 100 doctoral hours and upper level undergraduates with more than 170 hours are no longer funded by the state," Kuffel said.
State funding is higher, for example, for a masters student taking masters courses than for masters students taking undergraduate courses.
The same value difference occurs between undergraduate, masters, doctoral and special professions students.
The disbursement is also based on the type of courses taken. Classes that have labs like sciences and math are funded more than classes such as English, Apodaca said.
"(Ideally,) the highest funds given to UH would be for a student trying to get their Ph.D. in a hard science or engineering," Apodaca said.
As incoming freshmen numbers increase, graduate student numbers still lag behind.
Kuffel said that although it is too late to look at graduate student enrollment this year, full attention must be given to increase the number of graduate students in 1999.
He also suggested that an increase in the number of tenured faculty would help boost state funding. With the majority of UH faculty only part-time, Kuffel explained, UH is loosing funds.
"The state adds on money to the budget if the faculty is tenure or tenure track, " Kuffel said.
He noted, however, that UH lacks sufficient funds to sustain tenure faculty.
"We are not going to see an increase anytime soon," Kuffel said.
Another concern in attracting more students is the number of class sections available to incoming freshmen.
The greatest demand for the fall has been for classes that are normally not in demand, such as lower level and core classes such as English, math and psychology.
Zwieg said the provost and the individual colleges are working to solve the problem.
He said, "We have always been able to raise funds necessary to supply sufficient numbers of sections for classes."