PSU Magazine Fall 1992

Measure 5: more hard choices he immediate effects of Measure 5, round two, are easily summarized-cut $19.2 million, eliminate 273 faculty and staff posi– tions, reduce student enrollment by 14 percent, and increase tuition by 32 percent. But the real effect, the true cost of Measure 5, must be measu red in lost opportunities, lack of access, lost time, and increased personal debt-a cost that will be borne by PSU students for years to come. The University's budget reduction plan for 1993 -95-a 20-percent cut in funds from the current 1992-93 service level- has been accepted by the State Board of Higher Education. All eight universities in the state system and the Chancellor's office have proposed similar reductions as mandated by Gov. Barbara Roberts. Portland State's budget calls for cut– ting $4.6 million in administration and campus operations and $11 .6 million in academic programs and support services. The remaining $3 million is expected to be raised from revenue enhancements, mainly a 15-percent tuition increase each of the two years of the next biennium. Resident undergraduate students at PSU currently pay $2,658 a year. If a 32-percent increase is implemented, tuition will reach $3,500 by 1994-95, making student fees fund more than 40 percent of the total cost of under– graduate instruction. The state board would like to keep this figure at 33 percent for optimum access to O regon tudents. Last year at Portland State, eniors were an average of $9,000 in debt by the time they graduated. It is e timated that by 1995, graduates will be $26,500 in debt- the result of increased tuition. According to the Chancellor' of– fice, the cumulative effect of Mea ure 5 on rhe entire state system from its pa sage in 1990 th rough 1995 will be a 77-percent increa e in tuition, a drop in enrollment of more than 7,000, and a reduction of 2,600 in faculty and staff po ition . "These facts are devastating in and of themselves," say Chancellor Thomas Bartlett. "Bur, when we look down the road we ee that, by the year 2001, the number of high chool graduates in Oregon is expected to increa e by 40 percent. It is clear that we should be planning for ways to increase, rather rhan decrease, our resources." It is, however, pos ible ro see some good things coming from the hard look Oregon's universities have been forced to take because of Measure 5. Increa ed administrative efficiency was a major focus of budget reduction and reorganization in the first round of Measure 5. PSU completed a detailed internal review of its management and administrative structure this past year and has moved to eliminate duplica– tion , reduce costs, and increase manage– ment effectiveness. As a result, the University's administrative co ts are well below national averages for h igher education. While additional admin istrative reductions are planned for the second round of Measure 5, they become increasingly difficu lt to make while maintaining nece ary administrative and support functions, says PSU Provost Michael Reardon . The coming year will be spent in detailed academic program review and planning at all levels of the University in preparation for the academic program and service shifts that will be required by the 1993-95 budget cuts. "Planning will focus on re hap ing the University's undergraduate cur– riculum and exploring ways to increase collaboration both internally and exter– nally with area community college and orher educational institutions," says Reardon. "Unfortunately, none of thi out– weighs the disservice we're doing to Oregon's, and particularly Portland's, futu re student ." D ROUND ONE REDUCTIONS [1 991-93] $8.2 million [$4.1 million annually], 10 percent of the state-funded budget • more than 50 pos itions eliminated • tuition increa ed by 32 percent • 500 fewer students served • School of Health and Human Performance eliminated • 13 degree programs and options eliminated or suspended ROUND TWO REDUCTIONS [propo ed for 1993-95] $19.2 million [$9.6 million annually], 20 percent of the state-funded budget; $16.2 million in personnel and program cuts; $3 million in new revenue through increased tuition • eliminate 273 positions [173 FTE] increa e tuition by 15 percent each year of the biennium • reduce student enrollment by 14 percent • reduce administration and opera– tions by $4.6 million • reduce academic program and support services by $11.6 million, which includes: • reducing all chool's instruction– al budgets by 8 to 12 percent; • eliminating International T rade Institute, Center for Urban Re– search in Education, Department of Dance, funds for access lecture sections; • increasing faculty productivity PSU 11