Originally Posted by
dawg80
Grambling, Southern, UNO, and Nicholls State are the low-hanging fruit and will be the first schools closed....should it come to that. I have known this for several months but was asked to keep quiet about it. No need to stir things up and get the public riled up....until there was no choice. Well, just now on the radio, State Senator Gerald Long disclosed the list of four schools. He was QUICK to add it might not come to that, and that he recognizes the contributions of those 4 schools to Louisiana's higher ed history. Etc.... the normal disclaimers you would expect one to make.
This recommendation does not come from a public source. That is, it is not the result of a group of legislators and/or higher ed officials in ULS or elsewhere. Rather, this is a summary of a study conducted by a private group of prominent businessmen, business leaders, and HUGE benefactors to other state universities.
Dr. Jim Henderson, new Prez of NSU, included a blurb about this in his weekly message:
Even as efforts to mitigate the cuts continue, some are quick to provide othersolutions to the situation. One argument often brought forward is thatLouisiana has too many 4-year universities. One analysis recently published compared, on a per capita basis, the number of universities in Louisiana to the number in Florida and the number in North Carolina. I pointed out to the author two problems with his analysis. North Carolina has 16 four-year universities, which is fewer per capita than Louisiana, but North Carolina also spends nearly $9,000 per FTE student compared to less than $4,000 in Louisiana. Florida has fewer universities per capita than Louisiana as well, but only when one forgets that 16 community colleges in Florida offer bachelors degrees because the number of universities is insufficient to meet demand. Are there opportunities for efficiencies in our offerings? Sure, but if one closed every university north of Ville Platte, the state would not save enough to fix the higher education portion of the budget cut. When you add the bonded indebtedness of these universities to the equation, you will be further convinced this argument is a red herring.
Dr. Henderson is correct to point out that closing 4 schools will NOT affect short-term budget woes. All four schools are deep in debt, and they have obligations to current faculty and staff that will have to be paid off first. I don't agree that it is a "red herring," however. Long term effects will be positive on the state budget, AND! will send a clear message to all other schools to get and keep their fiscal house in order....or you may be next. (BTW, I REALLY like Dr. Henderson. He gets it and will do well for NSU.)
All of this to say, I do believe our "leaders" recognize the severity of the budget crisis and are taking a hard look at solutions and alternatives. First step to solving any problem is admitting there is one.
You might say, well D80, there is really nothing new in this post. Everyone already knew all of this. Yep. Except now it is being discussed publically and openly, not just whispered behind closed doors. I already mentioned how Faculty Senates across the state have taken up the issue as well. So, we'll see where it all leads. One thing is certain, the state is facing a $1.6 billion budget shortfall and as a Shreveport State Rep said the other night (can't remember his name....Adlin? something like that) all the state legislature has to play with is $2 billion in funding for higher ed and healthcare. Only, foolish Louisiana voters just approved an amendment to effectively protect healthcare, so it will fall on the higher ed....again.