From the LSU Daily Reveille, 2/19/2009:
"...An estimated 8,500 students may leave the University if state funding is cut by 30 percent next fiscal year.
This figure — among others like hikes in tuition and student fees — was not included in the LSU System’s “budget reduction exercise” released Feb. 4.
“We’ve tried to minimize any discussion of enrollment loss and avoid too much focus on alternative sources of revenue,” LSU System President John Lombardi told Chancellor Michael Martin in a Jan. 29 e-mail obtained by The Daily Reveille. “Those issues are likely to prompt questions we’re not ready to answer given the variable nature of the budget conversations at the present time....”"
Read the full article:
What do you think? How big is the enrollment issue to you?
Do enrollment numbers correlate with state funding or money granted to the University? Will other types of funding from the government be cut if our enrollment figures drastically drop?
ReplyDeleteMegan, I don't know the answers to your questions, but I think this is yet another example of the University using fear-mongering under the guise of being "honest" with the students. It's a very careful and deliberate attempt at manipulating the situation to refocus on their viewpoint. I'm not saying I think they are evil, but I'm reading articles like the aforementioned Reveille piece with a healthy sense of skepticism. And while they might be playing the "worst case scenario" game, instilling a sense of panic in 30,000 students, thousands of university employees and taxpayers really isn't helping anyone at all and still has not resulted in a single practical solution to the problem.
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