The Board of Regents approved Wednesday a resident tuition and financial aid policy meant to assist higher education institutions affected by decreases in state funding.
Under the newly approved policy, institutions that have met LA GRAD Act standards are authorized to increase tuition and mandatory fee amounts to the Southern average. As of now, universities cannot increase their tuition without legislative approval.
But if universities are granted the ability to raise their tuition prices, they will have to use at least 5 percent of their additional revenue to create a need-based financial aid fund.
The policy will be become law if House Bill 275 is passed by both the House and the Senate.
“As the amount of state support for higher education declines, we have to find solutions that will enable institutions to increase revenue and protect critical student services,” said Commissioner of Higher Education Jim Purcell.
The Regents also approved the distribution of funding to public institutions using the performance funding formula. According to the initial projections, the LSU System is set to receive about $1.3 billion from the state for the 2012-13 year.
The Regents’ recommendation to the legislature proposes more than $2 billion to be allocated for higher education across the board, which includes Regents, the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance, the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, the LSU System, the Southern University System and the University of Louisiana System.
Though the Regents’ performance-based formula was
questioned at the LSU System Board of Supervisors meeting March 16, Regents Chairman Robert Levy said he hoped discussions about the issue were focused on the amounts of money, not the way it’s distributed.
“The overall funding formula is aligned with the outcomes we hope to achieve,” Levy said. “I’m confident that any concern surrounding the formula has much more to do with the level of funding available to higher education versus the actual mechanics of how the money gets distributed. We certainly encourage and welcome discussion of the issues, as well as the solutions, with anyone willing to come to the table.”
In other action, the Regents approved a University Ph.D. program in environmental science and a masters program in coastal and ecological engineering.
 
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Contact Rachel Warren at [email protected]