Student Government President Colorado Robertson said a complicated funding formula under consideration by the state Board of Regents is unfair to the University. The formula would establish how much total funding a university should have based on an institution’s level of research, graduation rates and its ability to produce graduates in high-demand professional fields. The Board of Regents’ budget request calls for the state to pay 56 percent of that total for LSU, and 60 percent or more for all other four-year institutions. The remaining money would come from tuition, research, grants and other sources. “LSU A&M should receive the same amount of state share of their operating dollars as every other four-year institution in this state,” Robertson said. The Board of Regents is meeting today to discuss the methodology behind the formula, which has been in the works for nearly two years. Robertson met with Commissioner of Higher Education Sally Clausen and LSU System Spokesman Charles Zewe last week to discuss the formula and its role in pending budget cuts. “For four-year institutions, [funding] should be across the board,” Robertson said. “It’s not fair, and it’s not equitable for LSU students to sit back and let the state fund every other university 60 percent and only fund this university 56 percent — and pass the cost on to us and our families.”Robertson said every four-year institution should be funded at the same level — in this case, 60 percent — otherwise the funding level could force the University to increase tuition and student fees, among other options. He said the formula is unfair to current and prospective LSU students. If the budget request was changed to pay 60 percent of the University’s total funding, instead of 56 percent, it would cost the state an extra $20 million — or roughly $700 per student. Whether the performance-based funding formula will help or hurt the University won’t be known until the Board of Regents decides on a final draft of the formula and on the percentage the state will pay. “The only people that can make this right is the Legislature if the Board of Regents doesn’t make that adjustment,” Robertson said.—-Contact Kyle Bove at [email protected]