The Daily Gamecock

Pastides calls for tuition freeze

Asks state government for ‘fair’ funding

University President Harris Pastides called for a three-year tuition freeze in exchange for increased, “fair” funding from the state Wednesday morning at his annual State of the University address.

Pastides also asked lawmakers to pass a performance-based education funding plan and to cover increasing employee pay, energy bills and health insurance costs. If the legislature does so, the university will not ask for any additional one-time allocations, like the $15 million it received this year to renovate Hamilton College.

Pastides did not specify what type of funding increase would be “fair,” and university spokesman Wes Hickman could not be reached Wednesday afternoon.

This proposal comes after two of the lowest tuition increases since 1999 and after state funding for the USC system plummeted during the recession — nearly $100 million since 2008.

When USC’s board of trustees approved a 3.15 percent average tuition increase for all but one of the system’s campuses, Pastides said he had hoped to have a “zero percent” increase. The state’s budget, however, forced the increase, he said in June.

But now, who is at fault is not the issue, Pastides said as state legislators looked on from the audience.

“If we can, let’s agree to stop the finger-pointing and to stop the blame game for escalating tuition. Let’s agree to meet state government halfway,” Pastides said. “Let’s find a formula for fairly funding a baccalaureate education. Let’s not consider a degree from Carolina a luxury. It is a necessity. Let’s find a way to invest in higher education in a way that makes common sense and that is fair.”

Pastides cited new funding models for public colleges and universities in Colorado, Tennessee and Indiana, encouraging South Carolina to follow suit.

Less than an hour after Pastides’ address, state Sen. Vincent Sheheen, a Kershaw County Democrat running for governor, released a statement supporting Pastides’ proposal.

“The offer extended by President Pastides today is exactly what we need: having the state and our universities work together to make higher education more affordable,” Sheheen said.

Currently, USC is funded at one of the lowest rates among public schools in the Southeastern Conference and others the university considers its peers.

Among that group, only the University of Mississippi spends less per student than USC. The University of Kentucky receives on average more state funding per student than each in-state student pays in tuition.

A performance-based funding plan for South Carolina’s public colleges and universities has already passed the state House of Representatives and awaits Senate approval when it convenes in January. Pastides has worked with Republican Gov. Nikki Haley and other public university presidents on the plan.

“Our public colleges and universities play a huge role in economic development and job recruitment efforts; they must be affordable and accessible for our students,” said Doug Mayer, a Haley spokesman. “It is also why the governor has fought, alongside President Pastides, for accountability-based funding reform measured on performance.”


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