N.C. schools look for funding

While all UNC-system schools are facing a lack of revenue from the state some have more to fall back on than others.

All schools fund themselves with a combination of money allotted from the state private donations federal grants and tuition. With the four percent budget cut proposed by Gov. Mike Easley" schools with fewer and smaller private donations will find it especially difficult to offset the cuts.

Universities with larger endowments have the option of dipping into those funds if state money comes up short.

""We don't have the large endowments you would find at larger schools. That's not an option for us right now"" said Gerald Hunter, vice chancellor for finance and administration at Winston-Salem State University.

WSSU is considering implementing a 6 percent cut instead of the required 4 percent cut.

A 4 percent reduction in funding at WSSU is equivalent to about $2.8 million in the university's overall budget, Hunter said.

WSSU, like almost all UNC-system schools, has implemented a hiring freeze and eliminated nonessential travel and purchases.

Deeper cuts make it possible they also will have to reduce staff, but too many position cuts could eventually hurt students, Hunter said. The last resort is reductions in faculty and support for students.

The most important thing for us is to make sure that we retain the core enterprise— students and faculty.""

WSSU has not decided whether to increase tuition"" although some schools are already in the process.

""It could help address some of the reductions" but at this time we're not really looking at tuition increases Hunter said.

Officials at Elizabeth City State University said they also are looking to target current donors before considering a tuition increase.

It's not in our plan to balance the shortfall by an across-the-board increase in tuition and fees to be borne by our students" said Sherri Belfield, director of marketing at Elizabeth City State. The school hopes to raise $5 million in private gifts by the end of this fiscal year to compensate, Belfield said.

At Western Carolina University, officials say that increasing private grants, while a top priority, could be a challenge.

We certainly will work to increase our grants" contracts and external gifts. However with the down economy this will be a challenge" stated Chuck Wooten, vice chancellor for administration and finance at Western Carolina, in an e-mail.

We are examining all areas of the university for potential budget reductions"" Jeanine Newman, associate vice chancellor for financial services at Western Carolina, stated in an e-mail.

Hunter said that dealing with the shortfall is all about differentiating between needs and wants.

We're going to keep operative regardless of what's going on. It's just a matter of making choices about what you can and cannot do.""



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