For the second consecutive year, Marshall University hosted a series of forums for faculty, staff, students and members of the community to discuss the future of higher education funding in West Virginia.
Forums took place over a one-week span in mid-November 2014 on three of the university’s campuses. The programs were intended to give people an opportunity to learn about budget cuts and their impact, as well as to ask questions. The forums were free and open to the public.
To watch videos of the forums, click on the following links:
- Huntington Campus Forum (Nov. 13, 2014)
- South Charleston Campus Forum (Nov. 18, 2014)
- Mid-Ohio Valley Center, Point Pleasant, Forum (Nov. 20, 2014)
Sponsored by the Office of the President and the university’s Faculty Senate Legislative Affairs Committee, the forums were moderated by Beth Vorhees, news director for West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Members and members-elect of the West Virginia State Legislature participated on the panels.
West Virginia’s public higher education institutions have weathered more than 11 percent in cuts to their state budget appropriations over the past two fiscal years and are concerned about potential future cuts.
Marshall President Stephen J. Kopp said he remains highly concerned that the cost-shifting from the state to students and their families will continue if state government continues its recent approach of transferring more of the direct financial costs of a public college education to students and their families through further reductions in the institutions’ state budget appropriations.
“In addition to working to keep a college education attainable and affordable for our residents, we all need to evaluate the long-term effects that these types of budget cuts have on future state economic development and vitality,” Kopp added. “Continuing cuts of this nature have never yielded a path to prosperity. Failure to invest in our state’s most precious resource—our people—portends damaging and enduring consequences for our state, region and future.”
Dr. William Price is a chemistry faculty member and chairman of the Legislative Affairs Committee. He said it is important for the faculty to work closely with the university’s administration to make sure people understand the impact additional cuts will have on higher education in the state.
“When cuts are made to state funding for higher education, the institutions have to increase tuition and eliminate programs at the same time other services to students decline,” he said. “We are not asking the state to increase our funding, but we do want to make sure our voice is heard regarding the possibility of future cuts.”
According to an analysis by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, West Virginia needs to produce an additional 20,000 college degrees by 2018 just to sustain its current economy.
The analysis also found that by 2020, 51 percent of West Virginia jobs will require an associate degree or higher. Currently, only 27 percent of West Virginians fall in that category.