USC News - University trustees approve 2008

June 27, 2008

University of South Carolina trustees approve 2008-09 budget

The University of South Carolina Board of Trustees approved a 2008 - 09 operating budget Friday (June 27) aimed at holding the line on costs while preserving the quality of the university’s teaching and research mission.

University President Andrew Sorensen said creating the budget, which is for all eight campuses, was challenging in an economic climate marked by cuts in state funding and significant inflationary costs.

The budget includes tuition and required-fee increases for all campuses to address each campus’s student needs and strategic priorities and to support campus operations.

“Although we are pleased that this budget will enable the university to maintain the quality that our students have come to expect in recent years, we are clearly mindful that even the smallest increases can work a hardship on students and their families,” Sorensen said. “As a result, we have tried to be conservative.”

The budget, which will take effect July 1, addresses inflationary increases such as the cost of fuel; funds academic initiatives, including the university’s ongoing program to hire some of the nation’s top teaching and research faculty; supports the university’s commitment to ensuring that students have one of the nation’s best living and learning environments; and includes a mandated 1-percent increase for state employees.

The operating budget for the Columbia campus and the School of Medicine, which faced a 2.68-percent cut in state funding, is $886 million.

Rick Kelly, vice president and chief financial officer, said the university was forced to trim funding requests for numerous programs in order to curb costs.

“During the budget process this year, our campus leaders requested funding for many exceptional programs and services,” said Kelly, “but, given the exceptional pressures to hold down tuition, Dr. Sorensen asked us all to revise requests and to look for cost-savings and creative solutions in the face of state funding cuts. Our leaders responded with a thoughtful budget process that responds to university needs and addresses strategic priorities.”

Tuition and fees for all undergraduates on the Columbia campus will rise by 5.9 percent and are expected to generate approximately $11.5 million in new university revenue, which will be used to offset a portion of the state cut and to fund the following initiatives:

The continuation of a six-year faculty-hiring program, entering its fifth year, to enhance the quality of instruction and allow the university to recruit additional faculty for disciplines and programs that support the university’s strategic priorities;

Inflationary increases to cover the increased cost of fuel for Law Enforcement & Safety and facilities;

Support for student-affairs initiatives, including enrollment management, the Gamecock Guarantee operations and increased planning and compliance;

The third year of funding for the Office of Facilities to support wages for maintenance and custodial staff and continued enhancement of apprenticeship and training programs for trades workers;

An increase to the funding for debt service to support deferred maintenance;

A new Global Competitiveness Initiative that establishes an office to provide oversight of all the university’s international activities. The office will be responsible for consolidating and integrating global initiatives, including academic programs, student exchange and study abroad, and international support for faculty and staff;

A portion of the 1-percent state pay package for employees.

The university budget also includes a second year of non-recurring state funding of $1.5 million for the South Carolina LightRail, a high-speed network planned among the University of South Carolina, Clemson University and the Medical University of South Carolina to enhance research, distance learning and educational programs and improve the health of individuals and communities across the state.

The tuition increase for undergraduates on the Columbia campus will raise tuition and required fees to $4,419 per semester for in-state students and $11,454 per semester for out-of-state students.

Tuition for graduate students will rise by 5.9 percent, with in-state graduate-student tuition increasing by $274 for a semester total of $4,918. Out-of-state graduate-student tuition will increase by $578 for a semester total of $10,368.

Students in the School of Law and School of Medicine will have different tuition increases. In-state students at the School of Medicine will pay $12,388 per semester; out-of-state students will pay $30,229 per semester.

In-state tuition for law students will increase by $542 for a semester total of $8,924; out-of-state law tuition will increase by $1,085 for a semester total of $17,810.

Tuition and required fee increases for in-state students at the university’s senior campuses are as follows:

USC Aiken -- $263 (7.5 percent) for a semester total of $3,766;

USC Beaufort -- $375 (12 percent) for a semester total of $3,500;

USC Upstate -- $291 (7.5 percent) for a semester total of $4,171.

Tuition for the regional campuses (Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter, Union) will increase by $198, or 8.1 percent, for a semester total of $2,632 for in-state students with fewer than 75 credit hours. Tuition for in-state students with 75 or more credit hours will be $3,826 per semester.

The University of South Carolina is the state’s oldest and largest public university, with an enrollment of more than 40,000 students at eight campuses across the state. Approximately 80 percent of undergraduates on all the university’s eight campuses are from South Carolina.

Columbia, SC 29208 • 803-777-5400 • uscnews@sc.edu