McDonnell Proposes $100M in Funding for Higher Ed

By Amber Lester Kennedy Thursday, December 15, 2011

Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Wednesday his proposed two-year budget will call for an investment of $100 million per year for higher education.

The proposed new higher education funding package is the “next step in our own two-year initiative to reform, restructure and reinvest in higher education,” he said. The funding will support the goals he articulated when he formed his Higher Education Reform, Innovation and Investment commission last year: to prepare Virginians for top jobs, boost job-creating research and innovation, make college degrees more affordable for students and aim to have 100,000 more Virginians earn degrees in the next 15 years.

He said the funding would reverse the “pattern of disinvestment” that took state funding away from public colleges and universities in the past decade, including The College of William and Mary. He said that disinvestment led to higher tuitions and fees, in turn leading to an increase in student debt.

The $100 million investment would specifically provide funding to supplement base operating costs; to incentivize STEM-H majors (those in science, technology, engineering, math or healthcare), graduates who complete college faster than normal and graduates from underrepresented groups; to account for enrollment growth between 2009-10 and 2010-11; to support cancer and high-tech research; to support other STEM-H initiatives; to increase financial assistance to students; to increase the Tuition Assistance Grant award for students attending private colleges; and to support institution-specific initiatives consistent with the goals of the Top Jobs legislation.

In the spring, the General Assembly unanimously adopted the Virginia Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011, which outlined policy goals and financial incentives for institutions to grant more STEM and healthcare degrees, create more affordable ways to obtain degrees, enhance efficiency and graduation rates, use technology to enhance instruction, expand research, use facilities year-round and improve financial aid.

The legislation required each Virginia public higher education institution to develop a six-year plan identifying various initiatives that would help achieve those goals. Colleges and universities have also begun to redirect existing resources toward the objectives, said Secretary of Education Laura Fornash. “It is now time for state government to provide the resources needed to ensure the success of this economically vital partnership,” she said.

In addition to proposing the allocation of $100 million each year, McDonnell removed a $10 million per year budget reduction to higher education institutions. More money will also go toward the state’s capital budget for colleges, including $400 million in new initiatives to be built with non-general funds.

McDonnell is also proposing new incentives to encourage efficient savings. Although higher education will not face reductions in his proposed biennial budget (to be released Monday), McDonnell is directing each institution to set aside the equivalent of three percent of its general fund support in FY 2013 and five percent in FY 2014 and beyond to reallocate funds toward his priority goals. The funding will be released to schools once their plans for supporting the “Top Jobs” legislation have been approved by the secretary of education.