The futures of colleges, programs, faculty and salaries hang in the balance as the legislative session begins today.With a $1 billion dollar deficit looming, University administrators say the stakes have not been higher in decades for higher education in the state.Legislators will debate 1,907 bills in the next three months. Many have direct effects on higher education, ranging from tuition prices to TOPS awards to administrative salaries.”More is at stake than any session in the last 10 years,” said Jason Droddy, assistant vice chancellor of Legislative and External Affairs. “We are looking at program elimination, consolidation. There could be some job reduction. There could be furloughs affecting people’s pay, and it could have real effects on students.”BALANCING THE BUDGETBalancing a $1 billion dollar deficit is the largest obstacle legislators face and will dictate other measures in the coming session.Higher education faced a $219 million reduction in Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposed budget going into the last legislative session. The governor has proposed no new cuts to higher education this year.The proposed budget relies heavily on one-time funds to cover the deficit, so legislators and administrators expect some cut to higher education before the legislature approves the final budget.”It would be difficult to imagine we would escape some cuts,” Droddy said. “If the state were to reward us for our performance, then they could find a way not to cut us.”Multiple bills seek to amend the constitution to help protect higher education and health care as legislators balance the budget.A $200 million to $400 million shortage in revenue in the last four months of the current fiscal year will be an issue the University must face before the end of June as lawmakers balance the budget for the coming fiscal year.State revenues are drastically less than expected for the first month of this calendar year, said James Richardson, University economics professor and a member of the panel that forecasts state revenue. It’s unclear what the shortfall in funding will be for this fiscal year until the Revenue Estimating Conference meets in April to review revenue figures from March, Richardson said.State officials instructed the University System to prepare for another midyear cut because of the shortfall, Droddy said.”Whatever the deficit is this year, it will likely be certified too late to actually take it this year,” said System President John Lombardi. “But it will have to be forwarded to next year. That will just make the next year worse. So its not a salvation; it’s just a delay.”The budget is currently being debated in the House Appropriations Committee.RAISING TUITIONThe idea of increased tuition to help mend the damage caused by the state budget is gaining more traction with lawmakers and administrators.Chancellor Michael Martin made it clear last month he wants the state to give the University the authority to raise $12 million to $15 million to help cover the gap.Currently, the legislature must approve increases in fees, but multiple bills would give the University the authority to increase tuition without legislative approval.These include the governor-sponsored LA GRAD Act — or House Bill 1171 — which would give the University the ability to raise tuition and fees 10 percent for consecutive years if certain graduation goals are met.The LSU Board of Supervisors increased tuition by 5 percent earlier this month. Passage of a bill like the LA GRAD Act would allow tuition to be raised by 5 percent more for next year at a cost of about $444 for full-time undergraduate students.CAPPING TOPSLawmakers are again attempting to lessen TOPS awards.Multiple bills seek to place caps on the TOPS program while another would force students to repay TOPS awards if the award is not retained for the first two years.–Contact Xerxes A. Wilson at [email protected]