Though Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposed budget keeps higher education funding on par with last year, swaths of higher education’s proposed state appropriations rely on legislation that would increase appropriations from students’ pocketbooks to fill the funding gap.
The measure in Jindal’s legislative packet with the most potential cost to students is House Bill 448, which seeks to increase the full-time tuition cap from 12 to 15 hours for undergraduate students.
Students enrolled in 12 or more hours per semester are currently considered “full-time” and pay a flat rate for any additional hours enrolled.
HB 448, by Rep. Hollis Downs, R-Ruston, would move the flat-rate cap to 15 hours, resulting in increased costs for students taking 15 hours. The bill would similarly raise the cap for graduate students and will be covered by students’ TOPS awards.
Under the governor’s proposal, University undergraduates would pay $189 more per credit hour for each credit hour taken between 12 and 15 hours. Most classes constitute three hours, so this would equate to a $567 increase in students’ tuition for a 15-hour course load.
According to Office of Budget and Planning statistics, the number of students enrolled in 15 hours was double the number enrolled in 12 hours last semester.
Jindal’s reasoning for sponsoring such legislation is to stem the increasing number of students who begin with a full course load only to drop classes by the end of the semester, leaving wasted space in classrooms.
But the importance of this legislation is also financial, as state universities will lose a large portion of proposed state funding if legislation fails to garner the two-thirds approval of both legislative chambers. The increase would be covered by TOPS.
LSU’s chief financial officer, Eric Monday, said the situation could get ugly for higher education if Jindal’s proposals fail. The University will lose more than $20 million in proposed funding if that increase fails to pass.
“We go from something manageable to something damaging,” Monday said. “Nobody will like the choices we have to make.”
Jindal’s budget also seeks to re-index universities’ operational fees. This legislation would result in more modest cost increases for students but would not be covered by TOPS.
These proposed increases come on top of an already legislatively approved tuition increase of 10 percent for in-state students and 15 percent for out-of-state students.
If legislation tied to Jindal’s proposed budget fails to pass, the University could see a midyear budget cut in the coming semester.
Aside from bills tied to the proposed budget, legislators will debate other potential tuition increases, changes to the TOPS program and the management of higher education, among other topics.
Jindal’s proposal is not the only one that would change the tuition cap.
House Bill 25 by Rep. Jerome Richard, I-Thibodaux, would remove the cap for full-time tuition entirely.
This measure would see tuition prorated through 18 hours, so students taking 18 hours pay 50 percent more than students taking the minimum of 12.
This is the second year Richard has authored such legislation at the request of Nicholls State University, located in his district. His bill last year “never saw the light of day,” according to Richard.
“I just happen to believe this is a fair way to raise tuition,” Richard said. “If you take 15 hours, that is what you pay for instead of letting colleges raise tuition carte blanche.”
Perhaps one of the most hotly contested proposals of the session is the merger of the University of New Orleans and Southern University-New Orleans.
House Bill 537, by Jim Tucker, would merge the two institutions and was debated in the House Education Committee for more than six hours May 4 before being passed to the House Appropriations Committee.
The funding of students’ TOPS awards will also be debated later in the session. House Bill 390 by Rep. Jane Smith, R-Bossier City, would amend the constitution to dedicate funds to TOPS.
With tuition set to increase for the next five years from the LA GRAD Act, the cost of TOPS is set to skyrocket. HB 390 would cap money from the Millennium Trust Fund and revert gains from the trust fund to TOPS.
The Millennium Trust Fund is funded by Louisiana’s 1998 Tobacco Settlement.
Because Jindal’s budget removes general fund money from TOPS to fund other sections of the budget, failure of the bill could result in a shortfall in TOPS funding.
Jindal has reiterated his intent to fund TOPS in any event.
Senate Bill 50 by Sen. Butch Gautreaux, D-Morgan City, seeks to cap TOPS awards. As tuition increases, this bill would see TOPS awards insufficient to cover tuition at many schools.
 
________
Contact Xerxes A. Wilson at [email protected]