Whitney Cyr
Managing Executive Editor
According to Interim President Jay Kahn, Keene State College has submitted its budget requests for the 2014 and 2015 school years and the requests have some changes that, if passed, would change the price of student tuition. According to Kahn, if the budget request is passed by the University System of New Hampshire, this new budget would restore the landmark 49 percent budget cut. In return, the University System of New Hampshire would freeze in-state tuition on students and it would also increase aid for those students in need. However, the trade off is that tuition would rise 2.5 to 3 percent for the fiscal 2014 and 2015 school year, which is the average percentage tuition increases each year for in-state students. The budget request must be approved by the newly elected governor in January. Kahn said KSC’s highest priority is to maintain a “high value on education and experience. We can’t let that slip,” he said. Kahn noted that about half of the matriculated students stay in New Hampshire upon graduation, which is crucial for improving the state’s economy, so the value of KSC’s education is still of utmost importance.
“In the passing of the biennial budget, the trustees are asking to invest in the workforce needed for the New Hampshire economy,” Kahn said. After having 13.3 million dollar in-state appropriation, the 49 percent budget cut reduced that figure to 7 million. According to Andy Robinson, the vice president of student affairs, these budget cuts have indirectly affected by the budget cuts in relation to student fees.
“The directors are accountable on how to spend student fees,” he said. “We had to cut some staff and we’re tightly budgeted now.” He said the amount of student fees increase every year by two or three percent. Robinson said he wasn’t sure if the legislature would buy this new budget proposal.
“We absorbed the reduction through positional elimination and it also resulted in a large in-state tuition increase in the last two years,” Kahn said. Kahn emphasized KSC is spending 20 percent less than other institutions in New Hampshire, so effective budgeting has been the college’s focus, all while maintaining quality. According to Kahn, 60 percent of every dollar from tuition goes to instruction, saying in-state students pay the fair market price for tuition. The average amount of student debt leaving KSC, however, is $31,000.
According to the Associated Press, New Hampshire’s student debt rate is $32,450, while Utah’s is $17,250 and according to the Nashua Telegraph, New Hampshire has the highest rate of student debt, so these budget restoration would have a large effect on student tuition, according to Kahn. Robinson said the budget cuts and amount of student debt leaving KSC impacts everyone, in terms of retention and how many students the college brings in.
“For those who have financial aid, that’s the majority of students, that student debt rate is more,” he said. The budget request, however, would restore the state appropriation back up to 100 percent, noting New Hampshire is currently giving higher institutions the least amount of money in funding. “Our state appropriation has to increase ten times to vie with the leading states in the country,” Kahn said.
Kahn said the request has gone to the current governor, who is leaving in January. The new governor will have to reconsider this budget request.
“To the constituencies that care about higher institutions, they should ask candidates where they stand on funding for higher education,” Kahn said. “I’ve written to KSC alums and families asking them to contact those running for office to express interest in funding for higher education.”
“This is an important time for our students, the state and our country to be investing in the future.” Karen House, the vice president of finance and planning, could not be reached for comment.
Whitney Cyr can be contacted at wcyr@keene-equinox.com