CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) - Southern Illinois University trustees will consider a plan to gradually shift state funding from the Carbondale campus to the Edwardsville campus to reflect enrollment shifts.
Historically the Carbondale campus has had about 64 percent of state funding and about 36 percent went to Edwardsville. That split mirrored enrollment, The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan reported.
However enrollment at the Carbondale campus has been declining and more students are enrolling at Edwardsville. Enrollment distribution between the two schools is now about equal with Carbondale at about 14,500 students and Edwardsville with about 13,800 students.
Trustees are to vote at the April 12 meeting on whether to “begin a phased adjustment of the state appropriation allocation in a more equitable fashion.”
The first phase of the plan would send an additional $5.1 million to the Edwardsville campus for fiscal year 2019. The proposal calls for System President Randy Dunn to hire an external consultant to develop a recommended formula to address the funding gap. The plan anticipates between $17.7 million and $2.3 million would be transferred to the Edwardsville campus.
SIU Edwardsville’s Faculty Senate earlier this month adopted a resolution asking trustees to “reallocate the SIU system budget in a just and equitable manner.” The proposal also comes after the Carbondale campus borrowed $35 million from Edwardsville during the state budget impasse.
___
Information from: Southern Illinoisan, http://www.southernillinoisan.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.