Story By Christopher Conover

March 17, 2011

The budget proposed by the state Senate cuts $92 million from the University of Arizona. That amount is on top of the $100 million in cuts the UA has taken since fiscal year 2008. Recent years' cuts to the three state universities in Arizona are the largest in the nation.

University of Arizona President Robert Shelton says if the Senate proposal goes through, the university will have to look for a host of solutions. They include everything from tuition increases to job losses and shrinking of programs.

Shelton is hoping, however, that when the final budget is approved by the Legislature, it looks more like what Gov. Jan Brewer envisioned. She is asking for only $67 million in cuts to the UA. Shelton says that could mean a lesser but still-significant loss of 400 jobs at the university, which is southern Arizona's second-largest employer.

The Arizona Board of Regents is asking all three universities to approach the Governor’s proposed cuts not as a one-time event. Instead, ABOR wants the universities to take a third of the cut and make it permanent. At the UA, that works out to about $39 million in permanent cuts.

In addition to job cuts, Shelton says tuition increases are part of the formula to deal with the Governor’s proposed cuts. However, he points out that to make up the entire cut, the university would have to raise tuition by $2,500 for in-state students--an amount he says is not realistic, at least not all at once.

As for tuition increases for out-of-state students, Shelton says that amount is almost as high as it can go before the UA stops being competitive.

The Senate released its budget plan without talking to the Governor’s office. Constitutionally, budgeting is a legislative responsibility; however, the Governor must sign the proposal. That requirement bodes for renewed negotiations before the state decides its universities' funding future.

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