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RIBGHE commissioner says URI budget issue still 'tricky situation'
Jeff Sullivan
Issue date: 11/6/08 Section: News
11/6/08 - Many students know the University of Rhode Island, for the moment at least, is partly funded by the state of Rhode Island, but few are aware of the actual system the funds flow through and how it affects their tuition.
Jack Warner, the Commissioner for the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education, discussed the financial dynamic between state-funded institutions like URI and the financial institutions that help fund them. He also touched on how this will influence the choice of URI's next president.
Warner stood in the Memorial Union Ballroom last night in front of a crowd of about 60 explaining the ins and outs of state funding for institutions of higher education in Rhode Island.
The main issue students repeatedly asked Warner about was the mid-year tuition increase, and why other state-funded programs were not taking cuts to provide more money for higher education.
"This is a strong university, and it has been for some time," he said. "We compete with lots of embedded entitlement programs in Rhode Island, so if any money is going to be freed up for higher [education], it's got to come from somewhere."
Warner added the board has a lobbyist in the legislature pushing for increased funding of the university, but he added he was not optimistic about the situation. He said because of how the Rhode Island human service budget is set up and how URI's costs are interpreted, URI is less important.
"There needs to be a restructuring of state priorities on the one hand and ways to affect savings in some of those entitlement programs on the other hand for all this to work well," he said.
Warner said because higher education costs are considered discretionary, unlike those of other entitlement programs and human services that are considered fixed costs, they are given less priority in the state budget, and are cut more often.
Junior Allen Petit, a student senator and finance major, asked how the board is lobbying for more money from the legislature to stall tuition hikes.
Jack Warner, the Commissioner for the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education, discussed the financial dynamic between state-funded institutions like URI and the financial institutions that help fund them. He also touched on how this will influence the choice of URI's next president.
Warner stood in the Memorial Union Ballroom last night in front of a crowd of about 60 explaining the ins and outs of state funding for institutions of higher education in Rhode Island.
The main issue students repeatedly asked Warner about was the mid-year tuition increase, and why other state-funded programs were not taking cuts to provide more money for higher education.
"This is a strong university, and it has been for some time," he said. "We compete with lots of embedded entitlement programs in Rhode Island, so if any money is going to be freed up for higher [education], it's got to come from somewhere."
Warner added the board has a lobbyist in the legislature pushing for increased funding of the university, but he added he was not optimistic about the situation. He said because of how the Rhode Island human service budget is set up and how URI's costs are interpreted, URI is less important.
"There needs to be a restructuring of state priorities on the one hand and ways to affect savings in some of those entitlement programs on the other hand for all this to work well," he said.
Warner said because higher education costs are considered discretionary, unlike those of other entitlement programs and human services that are considered fixed costs, they are given less priority in the state budget, and are cut more often.
Junior Allen Petit, a student senator and finance major, asked how the board is lobbying for more money from the legislature to stall tuition hikes.
