Colleges May Seek Big Funding Increase

By Jeff Amy/Associated Press
JACKSON – The College Board is considering whether to push forward a request for a big budget increase to Mississippi lawmakers.
The state’s eight public universities asked the board’s Finance Committee Wednesday for an 11 percent increase over what they will get in the 2015 budget year, which begins July 1.
That would boost spending, not counting bond money, by $84.8 million and would be a much larger increase than universities received for 2015.
Of the additional money, $40 million would go into a formula that’s mostly allocated based on how many credit hours students complete.
Some research units say they need increases to recover from years of funding cuts, especially considering most don’t have students to pay tuition.
Agencies could seek large increases during the 2015 Legislature before next year’s elections.