Panel loosens up on higher ed rules

Last week, higher education officials felt like their hands were being tied by lawmakers who passed intent language on specific ways college and university presidents should handle their budgets.

On Monday, the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee loosened the ropes.

"We're not that far apart," said Commissioner of Higher Education Rich Kendell.

Last week, legislators told presidents they needed to come up with $39 million for fuel and power costs, operation and maintenance and enrollment growth throughout the system.

Funding sources were to come from making remediation courses student-funded, supposed unused research and development grant money, raising the tuition rates for graduate students and a second-tier tuition increase.

But Kendell said that being forced to come up with $15.3 million in unused grant money, for example, would actually mean having to divert money away from construction bonds for current research projects at the University of Utah and Utah State University.

After a vote on new intent language Monday, presidents once again have the autonomy to find other means to fund the $39 million.

Higher education and the Legislature, Kendell said, have also come together on funding compensation increases for staff and faculty at Utah colleges and universities. If there's new money, he added, both sides agree half should be used for unfunded enrollment growth and half for high-priority projects.

"The third thing would be they're giving presidents complete flexibility in terms of how they balance their budgets," he said.

In an era of stagnant state funding, presidents have on their own made $73 million in budget cuts since 2001 by reallocating resources.

Kendell said the data relied on to justify funding sources recommended by legislative fiscal analysts was inaccurate and that the budgeting process for higher education requires more digging into numbers. Sen. David Gladwell, R-North Ogden, defended the analysts, who said they relied on information reported to them by higher education.

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com