Schools

Kent State to get Boost in State Share of Instruction Money

2014 projections show university will get increase in state support at 7 of 8 campuses

After riding out cuts in state financial support in 2012 Kent State University is expected to see increases in state higher education dollars at seven of its eight campuses for 2014.

Gov. John Kasich's proposal for Ohio's biennium budget starting next year shows overall increases in the State Share of Instruction dollars to Ohio's public universities and colleges for fiscal year 2014 compared with 2013.

The proposal shows only the Kent State Trumbull campus will see a drop in 2014, of 0.4 percent, based on recommendations from the Ohio Higher Education Funding Commission.

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The commission recommended the Kent campus see the largest increase, of 5.3 percent, raising the state's contribution from $96.7 million in Kent State's 2013 budget to $101.9 million in 2014.

Kent State relies heavily on state dollars to operate.

Find out what's happening in Kentwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In 2012, the bulk of the university's eight-campus $574.2 million budget came from tuition and fees to make up 61.3 percent of the total budget. State appropriations accounted for 21.5 percent of the overall budget that year.

And in fiscal year 2012 the university saw a 13.1 percent, or about $12 million, cut in state dollars.

In a prepared statement, Kent State President Lester Lefton pointed to the university's role in the Northeast Ohio economy as an important reason to maintain state-level support of higher education.

“Gov. Kasich clearly understands the important role higher education plays in the economic revitalization of Ohio and our nation," Lefton said. "We appreciate that the governor continues to prioritize higher education. The Kent State community is committed to student success and helping our students graduate."

The higher education funding committee's recommendations for the university's eight campuses are:

Campus FY2013 Actual ($) FY 2014 Projected ($) Percent Change Kent 96,737,165
101,874,112
 + 5.3 Ashtabula 4,050,680 4,219,509  + 4.2 East Liverpool 2,048,742 2,139,445  + 4.4 Geauga (Twinsburg) 3,337,559 3,482,511  + 4.3 Salem 3,738,460 3,853,605  + 3.1 Stark 8,456,186 8,504,747  + 0.6 Trumbull 4,643,535 4,626,705  - 0.4 Tuscarawas 4,851,369 4,866,882  + 0.3


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