No tuition increases are on the agenda yet, LSU Board of Supervisors officials said, but they may be necessary to keep the system out of financial trouble as the state cuts more than $27.7 million from the LSU System universities’ budgets.
Stewart Slack, board member from Shreveport, told the board’s seven-member executive committee on Friday that he thinks it may be necessary to return to a tuition plan rejected by the Legislature earlier this year.
“We’re getting killed by these budget cuts,” Slack said. “There are two main sources of funding for higher education in this state: tuition and the state. We’ve lived a long time off the state, and those days are over. We are looking at all our alternatives right now.”
The plan would have given the board the ability to increase tuition at LSU by $437 every year for several years, increasing tuition to as much as $7,042 per year. Tuition for non-residents is currently $6,389.
“There has been some discussion about trying to get the ability to increase tuition out of the hands of the Legislature and into the board’s control,” said Jerry Shea, board member from New Iberia. “We would have to get the approval of the Legislature before any tuition increases could be enacted by us.”
While Charles Zewe, Board of Supervisors spokesman, said tuition increases might have to be enacted to counteract the massive budget cuts the system has undergone in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, he said none are being considered right now.
“Tuition increases are not something that is being seriously considered right now,” Zewe said. “But it is something we always keep as an alternative.”
Zewe said the main concern for the board is saving the Health Sciences Center, specifically the New Orleans’ Medical School.
He said the medical school has projected that it will be completely out of money by the end of March.
“There are a lot of people in the system who are very concerned about the center’s future,” he said. “We are pursuing any and every avenue to rectify this serious situation.”
Slack said the board is waiting to find out if there will be any more budget cuts from the state and if any federal aid is on the way before it decides on a final plan to assist the Health Sciences Center.
“We’re working on a strategy to deal with it,” he said. “But we are waiting to see what level the state has to cut and what the federal government can do to help before we know what version of the plan to enact to keep the Health Sciences Center in business.”