Missouri colleges and universities have been seeing a decrease in funding for the last few years, according to UM President Tim Wolfe. He and other colleges and universities around the state are in the process of changing this decrease.
In a statement announced today, Wolfe asked the State Senate Appropriations Committee to increase funding by 5 percent to Missouri colleges and universities.
University Relations spokesperson John Fougere said that Missouri colleges and universities are facing close to a 3 percent increase in costs. This 5 percent increase in spending would help universities cover those costs, according to Fougere.
“The main issue here is our core funding, and our core funding is all the costs we have to address every year...Maintenance repair of buildings, utility costs, salary costs,” Fougere said. “And the fact that our enrollment now is up more than 40 percent in the last 15 years while our faculty and staff are up less than 10 percent. So, it’s hard to keep up there.”
The approval of this bill will bring $5.7 million to the UM System’s state funding budget. This budget amounts to $428.5 million at this time.
Wolfe’s proposal aims to provide more funding to colleges and universities across Missouri.
Fougere said Wolfe wants to ensure that the State Legislature keeps higher education a priority in its budget.
“We are committed to working closely with the not only the members of the General Assembly, but certainly with the Governor’s office in a partnership to make sure that we are prioritizing higher education in the state,” said Fougere. “That’s our number one goal when it comes to working with elected officials in Jefferson City.”
Fougere said the decision on this issue will be made in May. Until then, he said Wolfe and various colleges and universities across Missouri will continue to work toward receiving more funding.