CHANCELLOR KIRWAN:
STATE BUDGET FIGURES MISLEADING

NEWS

By Paul ROSENDALL and ERIN SCHAAL

The Terrapin Times Staff Writer and Advertising Director

           There is no immediate remedy in sight for tuition dilemmas and the details behind the problem may be composed of many myths.

            That’s the message Chancellor of the University System of Maryland William Kirwin shared with The Terrapin Times in an interview Dec. 2.

            One of the first things students might connect with rising tuition is the continued construction on buildings like the health center, Stamp Student Union and commons buildings.  Students may wonder why, when the budget seems so tight, the University would continue to fund construction.  In truth, said Chancellor Kirwin, renovations and construction do not affect tuition rates.

            According to Chancellor Kirwan, funds for construction are completely separate from tuition funds. “They come from two different pots, they can’t be mixed,” he said.

            The operational budget also covers salaries, which are under scrutiny by many students.

            State budget figures show some Maryland college presidents – C.D. Mote included - have received up to a 126% increase in salary since 1998 (see Fiscal Watchdog, page 2), but Kirwan claims that no one in the field of higher education has gotten a raise in the past three years.

            The figures can be misleading, he says, because new officials have been appointed to the positions, thereby increasing the overall salary, but they have not received a raise.

            University records, on the other hand, show that President Mote earned $257,910 in 2001 and 2002.  In 2003, however, he earned $357,999.

              The same state budget figures also state that 81 of the University System of Maryland employees receive a combined salary of $14 million each year.  Kirwin said that those numbers can be misleading as well.               

           He said that nearly 90 percent of those employees are doctors working in the schools and also maintain private practices.  Most of that reported income is earned through their private practices – not through the USM, he said.

            Furthermore, the budget documents show tuition has increased disproportionately to inflation for nearly a decade.

            “It’s like comparing oranges to tangerines,” said Kirwan.  He explained that to measure inflation, goods are measured to determine their value: gas, groceries, etc.  But a university doesn’t offer those goods, he said.  Universities offer books and computer technologies, the prices of which have recently increased dramatically.  “It’s harder to measure that worth,” he said.  Kirwin concluded that it is a mistake to compare inflation to tuition increase.

            He said that the value of an education is harder to measure especially because higher education is so vital in today’s society.

“The government needs to start looking at education as a [Kindergarten] through 16 system rather than a [Kindergarten] through 12 system,” said Kirwan.  “A college education isn’t an option anymore. It’s a necessity in achieving the goals of a modern society.”

            Nevertheless, Kirwan admits that students are bearing much of the brunt of state budget cuts.

            The reason, he said, is that the state has cut much of the funding it formerly provided.  In 1995, the state paid 58 percent of higher education funds while students paid just 33 percent.  In 2005, the state will pay 43 percent and students will pay 46 percent, Kirwan said.

            “Officials are at odds,” Kirwan said. “[Governor] Ehrlich wants to bring slots and Democrats want to raise taxes. No one can find a compromise to solve the problem.”

            Kirwin said that until officials can agree on a way to raise the money to pay for higher education, individual colleges will have to compensate for the losses by charging students more for tuition and eliminating university employees and services.

            Kirwan said messages from students and parents are effective, especially when delivered in large quantities.  Students, however, should be sure to send the right messages to the right people.

            “You might go to the legislature and tell them to spend more money on higher education, but that’s not their job,” Kirwan said.  “It’s their job to pass the bills and enforce them.  If you want more money, you need to go to Ehrlich.”