WVSU could lose $2 million in state funding in a new funding proposal from the Blue Ribbon Commission of the governing body of higher education in West Virginia.
On Friday a grim President Anthony Jenkins met with the campus community to discuss the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education in Wallace Hall Auditorium.
The original funding proposal favored WVSU and was the preferred model of the WV Legislature, Jenkins said. However, this model saw WVU lose almost $9 million while WVSU would get more funding along with a state matching of the Land Grant funding from the federal government.
(The YJ will be covering more about this issue in more depth and detail with updates to come soon.)
Four important takeaways from the conversation:
- West Virginia State was denied state matching Land-Grant Funding since we regained Land-Grant status in 2001. This means the state of West Virginia has failed to pay us the full 100 percent of matching funds for 17 years consecutively paying 52 percent on average. This has cost us millions in matched funds from the federal government.
- West Virginia State enrolls almost 80 percent of in state students, who this funding is meant to support. West Virginia University enrolls 48% in state students yet gets more state funding.
- When Fairmont State and Marshall split from their Community Colleges they were given an extra $1.5 million to their respective baseline budget. This means that every year after those colleges split they received that money. Both schools were also given a one time bonus amount of $3.5 million dollars in the budget for the split one fiscal year. West Virginia State University split with Kanawha Valley Career and Technical College, now BridgeValley Career and Technical College in 2010 and was not granted this additional $1.5 million added to its baseline budget. That would be $12 million dollars lost, and when asked President Jenkins he received “I don’t know” from elected representatives.
- President Jenkins is going to fight for State, but we need our Alumni and Students help as well. Please try to start conversations and understand we will be having a few other opportunities to speak with the President about this issue. Speak with SGA members or faculty to understand the implications of passage of the funding model.
