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News

UH group seeks funding in Austin

Tina Marie Macias
Senior Staff Writer

AUSTIN -- More than 300 students, alumni, staff and faculty in the UH System met with state lawmakers Tuesday to discuss higher education issues.

"Some of the students came to my office (Tuesday), and they talked to me about the importance of returning some of the funding that we took from them," said state Rep. Terri Hodge, D-Dallas. "I was quite impressed that these young people took part in coming to talk to the Legislature."

The group, Cougar Advocates for Texas, focused on speaking to state legislators about restoring basic funding, restoring research development funding, full funding of debt service and retaining authority to set tuition levels.

"Higher education is the only investment that they will get a return on," Student Regent Laura M. Salinas said. "When they get retired, don't they want someone educated and someone that's certified?"

The Texas Legislature allocates funds to all public universities through formula funding, which is based on credit hours, enrollment and predicted square-foot needs. The 78th Legislature reduced formula funding in 2003, and the UH System is asking it to restore funding levels for basic educational services.

"The one thing that is the same, regardless of the states, is the tuition balance relative with the appropriations that the state gives," UH President and UH System Chancellor Jay Gogue said. "Texas does it really well compared to what I've seen in other states."

CATS also pressed for state lawmakers to restore research development funding, which was cut in half from the legislative budget in 2003.

"Not enough schools are funded appropriately in terms of excellence," Rep. Garnet F. Coleman, D-Houston, said. "If you don't fund the education appropriately, then you can't complain, and the state must do that in this session."

Coleman said he wants UH to become a flagship university, joining Texas A&M and The University of Texas at Austin.

"The problem is, we only have two (flagships). California has 10," Coleman said. "Obviously we don't have enough slots for people who want to attend universities that are perceived to be of the first class."

Coleman is against tuition deregulation, which gives state universities the authority to set their own tuition levels and which the UH System supports. Coleman said if universities can set their own tuition, the state may tell them to do so rather than providing funding.

But Gogue encouraged CATS members to support deregulation in Austin, saying deregulation will help keep tuition from rising too much.

Deregulated tuition rates would help the System keep up with the state Closing the Gaps initiative, which aims to add 500,000 students to the Texas higher education system by 2015.
 

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