Haslam’s Budget Makes Cuts to Higher Education

Higher education leaders expressed disappointment, but not surprise, in Governor Bill Haslam’s decision to cut spending for universities, community colleges and trade schools. State funding for higher education will be reduced by $20 million dollars next year.

Haslam’s budget doesn’t anticipate any increases in tuition for those schools. But with the cuts, tuition increases are almost a certainty, says Middle Tennessee State University President Sydney McPhee.

“Students can anticipate some modest increase in tuition. Nothing to completely replace the draconian cuts we’ve had in the last couple of years, however.”

 

Four-year colleges have gone through a series of state appropriation cuts in the last three years, which led several schools to reduce staff through buyouts. Each fall those colleges have increased tuition, but not by enough to make up for the lost state dollars.

That’s mostly because of the political pressure to keep tuition in check. Officials estimated tuition increases for next year would be close to what they were last year, around 7%.

Haslam also proposed making HOPE scholarship funds available for summer terms, a move he expects will speed up graduation. It’s part of a larger plan he has to create a cheaper model for higher education.