Gov. Bobby Jindal again will propose a constitutional amendment merging all of the state’s higher education boards. Addressing a conference that included members of the Board of Regents and all four management boards, Jindal today thanked them for their efforts but says the state “needs a highly coordinated system with a laser-like focus on outcomes.” Other higher education proposals the governor says he will back include:
— Raising the cap on per credit hour tuition at universities from 12 to 15 hours, meaning a full-time student might have to pay for three additional credit hours.
— Standardizing community college tuition across the state to that of the highest allowable rate.
— Indexing universities’ operational fees to tuition, so that the fee designed to cover mandated costs will be 4% of tuition.
— Allowing schools to carry forward self-generated revenue from one fiscal year to the next and reducing “red tape” in procurement, human resources and facilities management. Jindal’s proposals are similar to some changes pushed by the Louisiana Flagship Coalition for LSU, but would apply to all campuses. Jindal is not proposing letting all new university hires be exempted from civil service or state pension regulations, as the coalition proposed for LSU, but says the Department of Administration is working with university administrators on proposals “that grant increased autonomies” from civil service.
— Tweaking the state’s performance measurements, placing “greater emphasis on student success metrics.”
Jindal says his budget will not cut more than 10% of higher education’s state general fund outlay. —David Jacobs
