Trustee Survey Paints Grim Budget Picture for Public Universities

Paul Fain reports on a new survey from the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB). All 23 pages of the survey report can be downloaded here (PDF).

Even before the recession, shrinking state coffers were causing budget woes for 42 percent of the boards surveyed, with trustees reporting an average reduction in state contributions of 6.4 percent in the fiscal year that ended last June. And trustees were grim in their assessment of the future, with 73 percent predicting state budget cuts next year. Almost a third said they would face state reductions of 10 percent or more.

The recession has harmed private giving, the survey found, with 18 percent of boards reporting a delayed fund-raising campaign, and 22 percent saying they were extending a current campaign.

Trustees were mixed in their views of whether federal stimulus money would help avert the budget problems on campuses.