First, all of us are grateful for the hard and effective work of the elected officials who represented districts of ASU campuses in the session.  ASU-Jonesboro was especially well-served by our local delegation.  Thanks to them for the outcomes for our campus.

Biennial appropriations were made on the basis of a formulaic distribution of funds provided for higher education through the Revenue Stabilization Act: the relatively healthy Arkansas economy and the projected economic growth of the state gave confidence to increase state budgets over the next two years.  A formula for higher education funding, discussed in earlier First Friday reports, projected funding for the coming biennium for four-year universities, two-year colleges, and the non-formula higher education entities.  Attachments to this report define those distributions, and provide the basis for these observations:

• At the present time and on the basis of our current productivity in the formula, ASU-Jonesboro is $12 million short of the funding needed by the campus.
   

• The first goal of the funding distribution was to provide a sum of money to each university to provide a 2.7% cost of living increase on salaries in the Education and General budget.  This distribution provided $893,072 for Jonesboro.
   

• The second goal of the funding distribution was to provide equity adjustments to bring all universities to 75% of formula-defined need.  Two universities received funding by this arrangement.  ASU-Jonesboro, at 82.1% of formula-defined need, did not receive equity funding.
   

• Additional new money was distributed within funding limitations ($33,423,896) to the many and varied higher education entities.  This process produced $893,758 for ASU-Jonesboro.
   

• The total of additional money for salary increases and operations for ASU-Jonesboro for the 2005-06 fiscal year is $1,786,830.  That distribution, in FY ’06, in addition to our current appropriation, will address 83.5% of our need for funding, as indicated by the formula.  Six universities in Arkansas have greater need; three universities have lesser need than ASU-Jonesboro based on the formula, which is sensitive to both quantities and types of student enrollments.  Funding relationships among universities will be dynamic, based on these variables:  typically, those that gain enrollment will show greater need, while those that lose enrollment will demonstrate less need for additional appropriations.
   

• In the second year of the biennium, the formula depicts a need for funding for ASU-Jonesboro in the amount of $65,291,081, based upon fall semester ’04 enrollment data comparisons.
   

• $977,185 will be provided in 2006-07 for a 2.7% cost of living adjustment for Education and General salaries.
   

• $2,525,485 in additional new appropriated funding will bring ASU-Jonesboro to 83.6% of formula need, the fourth highest among 10 public universities in Arkansas.

To put these appropriation figures into the context of actual need on the Jonesboro campus, these comparisons may be helpful:

• In 2005-06, legislative appropriations will provide $893,072 for salary increases.  In order to address a goal of a 3% salary increase for Education and General salaries, to provide increases warranted by promotions and extraordinary salary adjustments, and to provide for benefit cost increases based upon these higher salaries, approximately $2.4 million will be needed.  This is $1.5 million more than the state has provided for the purposes of salary increases in 2005-06.
   

• In 2005-06, appropriations will provide an additional $893,758 for operations at the Jonesboro campus.  Operational funding priorities for the coming fiscal year will exceed $7.5 million, or more than $6 million beyond what the state has provided.
   

• There are continuing needs for facilities, deferred maintenance, equipment, technologies, library collection arrearages, and employee benefit cost increases that are not addressed by the formula or anticipated appropriations.

From a more positive viewpoint, despite the lack of full formula funding, we have seen growth in funding for higher education in Arkansas over the next biennium.  By combining funding in the Revenue Stabilization Act, the Educational Excellence Trust Fund, and in Workforce Education Funds, higher education funding will increase 6.5% in the first year of the biennium, and 5.8% in the second.  This overall growth is the greatest since the mid-1980s, and brings state funding back to the approximate levels that were reduced in 2001-02.  If the economy continues to grow and if there is legislative and executive determination to address higher education through additional appropriations, full funding of the need-based funding formula may be realized over the next decade.

Over the last 10 years, we have stated the need for funding from the state to provide for a new teaching facility to replace the function of Wilson Hall.  More recently, we have added facilities for the College of Nursing and Health Professions and the College of Business to our list of needed facilities.  The legislature did not provide funding for higher education building projects, due in large part to the court-mandated demand for funding for public school facilities.

An opportunity to address higher education facilities may be provided because of an act of the recent legislature.  The current funding to retire the debt from the College Savings Bond Program may be extended by a vote of the people on a coming ballot initiative.  The currently funded stream of $25 million could produce a new facilities bond of $150,000,000 for higher education, without additional cost to the people of the state.  This mechanism may permit funding for building priorities on the campuses.  More information about this possibility will be provided later this year, and will be publicized to ASU constituents.

General Improvement Funds are provided for one-time projects at the direction of the senators and representatives, and by the governor, for needs significant to the state.  In the recent legislature, General Improvement Funds directed to ASU-Jonesboro include:

• $750,000 upon executive recommendation for the purposes of critical maintenance, equipment, and library resources.
   

• $513,701 upon legislative recommendation for the purposes of the university library and for other institutional and facilities improvements.
   

• $100,000 upon legislative recommendation for purposes of the ASU-Paragould instructional site.

These funds are one-time, non-recurring allocations that add capability to address needs for ASU-Jonesboro programs and facilities.

In addition to acts that address distribution of money, a number of bills were approved that will affect various aspects of university operations.  A representative sample of such bills includes:

• Act 1402 continues operational support for the ASU-Arkansas Biosciences Institute.
   

• Act 1256 requires additional consideration in admission to the nursing or health program of applicants from rural, medically-underserved areas of the state who are interested in serving in those communities.
   

• Act 1014 requires college advisers to provide students with a signed, written eight-semester course of study recommending a sequence of course requirements for completion of a bachelor’s degree.
   

• Act 1241 increases the maximum number of governor’s scholarships authorized and requires one $4,000 scholarship be awarded to a student from each county.
   

• Act 1288 authorizes classified employees of state-supported higher education institutions to be compensated for unused sick leave at retirement.
   

• Act 1429 creates a funding formula for allocation of funds to universities.
   

• Act 1430 prohibits the solicitation of credit card applications on college campuses.

A great deal of work remains following the work of the General Assembly.  It will be necessary to review all bills signed into law by the governor to determine whether they apply to any aspect of university operations.  Internal policies and procedures will need to be created or modified to reflect these new statutes, and notice will be given to internal and external constituents about the implication of these new measures.

Work will soon begin to construct the 2006 fiscal year operating budget, incorporating the appropriations described earlier, and by defining allocations, reallocations and new revenue production plans to meet the operational needs of the university next year.  This consideration will begin immediately by the executive staff, and a tentative plan will be presented to the University Planning Committee in the near future.  Following refinement of the plan, the FY ‘06 operating budget will be developed for presentation to the Board of Trustees for consideration and approval.  The budget eventually produced will reflect the efforts of many persons to shape the strategic plan for ASU-Jonesboro, the discussions held over the last two years that prompted the development and acceptance of the higher education funding formula, and the interaction with agency personnel and elected officials over the last 18 months that led finally to the outcomes of the General Assembly this week.

I am grateful to all who constructively joined these discussions, to those who labored to achieve these results, and to constituents who remain positive about the outlook for higher education and Arkansas State University.  Your support and effort are genuinely appreciated.

Thank you for reading First Friday.  Please let me know your thoughts about this material or any other aspect of ASU by writing president@astate.edu.

Leslie Wyatt
President

Referenced Attachment
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