"What we're saying, in a very gentle way, but a very firm way, is, if we don't get the resources we need, we don't grow -- period," Caret told alumni at a legislative briefing last Wednesday.
Caret has repeated the message to state higher education officials recently, including University System of Maryland Chancellor William Kirwan.
Caret raised his voice as he described this year's budget as "not really a growth budget."
"We are more than prepared...to be the growth campus," Caret said. But he suggested a second direction for the University if USM does not invest adequate resources.
"The other path is 16,000, 14,000, high SAT, high GPA, high tuition, much more selective, much more privatized," he said.
Caret remarked the "selective" path would be "a lot easier" and "a lot more fun," and said the University has plans for "both directions."
"But for the state of Maryland, it's not a good model," Caret added.
Faced with increasing numbers of college-bound students in Maryland, USM Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Joe Vivona said Towson is "certainly" expected to serve as a prominent growth institution.
"The first priority is to provide funding as appropriate for enrollment growth, and to facilitate access," Vivona said. "I certainly agree that it will take sustained support to grow enrollment."
Chancellor Kirwan said institutions couldn't be expected to grow if the state doesn't provide funding for growth.
"The one path we can't follow is growth without adequate funding," he said. TU's 2010 plan calls for the campus to meet enrollment demands and "projected growth from 22,000 to 25,000 over the next decade assuming adequate State resources [are available]."
"If they want us to grow, we need more than base money," Caret said at the briefing. "We need new money...for the new students who are coming."
Whether Caret's talk about a "selective path" is anything more than an effort to secure funding remains to be seen.
Kirwan said it is in "everybody's best interest to have Towson be a growth engine" because the state of Maryland is expecting a significant increase in high school graduates in the coming years.
"When we put the budget together, and when we go forward in the future, we will identify very clearly the funds that will be necessary at Towson in order to support the growth," Kirwan said. "All of this is predicated on the ability to get added support from the state."
Some observers believe pressure must be applied to the university system as well as the state. Prior to Caret's remarks, TU alum Barbara Hoffman, former chair for the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, compared Towson to the "good child in the family." "Towson always did phenomenally well with an inadequate amount of money," she said, adding that, "As Towson takes on the role of the expansion campus, there has to be a push to increase funding proportionally, so you can provide services and deliver the product."
In a later interview, Hoffman expanded on her comments. "If the system believes that they can flood the campus with students without making more than just an incremental increase in funding without seeing a decrease in quality, they're mistaken," she said. "And Dr. Caret has made it clear that he is unwilling to do that."
Hoffman added the "selective path" has several obvious advantages.
"You live within your means," she said. "Instead of finding the money to fit the campus, you find the campus that fits the money."
The USM uses a funding guideline to determine budgets for the institutions. "It is designed to provide funding on a per-student basis," Vivona explained.
He said the university system recognizes that Towson will need funding on a sustainable basis to ensure long-term growth.
"You can't say we'll give it to you in year one, but not in year two, and we'll give it to you again in year three," Vivona said.
Hoffman said Caret is beginning to look at the selective route as the "other option," if adequate funds don't materialize.
"Dr. Caret can't continue [on the growth path] without having a considerable additional amount of money," she said. "He's saying to the system, 'We'll do it this year,' but there will be a point beyond which he can't."
|
|
|
| Home | Copyright Brian Stelter |