Legislative update: a briefing for faculty and staff of the University System of Georgia, No. 13 (Apr. 15, 2002)

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
A Briefing for Faculty & Staff of the University System of Georgia No. 13, April 15, 2002

$16 Billion FY 2003 State Budget Includes Formula Funding, Money for Enhancing Access

U niversity System of Georgia officials are delighted that two items in the Fiscal Year 2003 Budget most crucial to the System --nearly $28 million in formula funding and almost $30 million to cover recent increases in the cost of health insurance -- survived four days of budget negotiations by a House-Senate Conference Committee as the record-breaking 13week 2002 Legislative Session came to a close.
Last Wednesday (April 10) the Georgia General Assembly ratified a $16.1 billion state budget, $1.73 billion of which is earmarked for the University System. In addition to leaving the System's formula funding intact, the legislature also included nearly $2.2 million to support a key goal of the Board of Regents' new Strategic Plan -- to enhance access to higher education by African-American males and non-

traditional students.
"All in all, it's a very good budget, despite the state's economic downturn," said Usha Ramachandran, the University System's budget director. "I'm excited that we did so well in a year when it was hard to be optimistic."
The grand total for formula funding amounted to $27.7 million, of which $9.7 million is being allocated for the first time in the FY `03 Budget. The remaining $18 million represents continuation funding. The new money will help University System institutions through the final phases of dealing with the impact of the temporary decline in enrollment that occurred following semester conversion in Fall 1998.
"Our campuses depend on formula funding," said Tom Daniel, senior vice chancellor for external activities and facilities. "This is bread-and-

butter funding and our highest budget priority. We are grateful that the Governor and the General Assembly recognized this and made sure that these funds remained in the budget throughout the session."
Daniel was equally pleased about the $2.2 million for enhancing access to higher education.
"African-American males and nontraditional students are two segments of the population that need increased attention from the University System," said Daniel. "Over 22 percent of our students are African Americans, but there are twice as many females as males among our African-American students. We plan to address the issues in order to better attract and recruit this vital population of students. The budget also includes funding for Phase I of our plan to enroll Georgia in the Southern Regional

Education Board's Doctoral Scholars Program for minority graduate students."
The Regents also will use some of the access funds to attract more non-traditional students by bringing select four-year college programs to two-year college campuses in areas of the state lacking a state university. Georgia currently ranks last among the 50 states in postsecondary participation rates by people aged 25-64.
Another USG budget enhancement that remained intact in the final FY '03 Budget is $1.53 million to apply an innovative model for creating an educated workforce developed by the System's Intellectual Capital Partnership Program (ICAPP) to Georgia's health professions. Since FY 1997, ICAPP Advantage has been highly successful in using the resources of
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE -- April 15, 2002, Issue No. 13

FY `03 Budget
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the University System to help quickly staff Georgia's employers with high-demand knowledge workers. With the funds included in the FY '03 Budget, that model can be used to help alleviate the critical statewide shortage of health-care professionals through publicprivate partnerships with employers in this field.
The legislature had even more good news regarding the University System's special initiatives, fully funding a mission-related leadership program for North Georgia College and State University -- the state's military college -- and partially restoring funding for the following programs that previously had been cut:

a nurse anesthetist program at the Medical College of Georgia ($415,000);
the Georgia Tech Regional Engineering Program (GTRP) ($250,000);
an ICAPP program at Georgia Southern University ($650,000);
an ICAPP program at East Georgia College ($215,000);
an ICAPP program at Middle Georgia College ($100,000); and
the Southwest Georgia Economic Development Consortium ($175,000), a consortium of seven USG institutions.
Less positive news was the loss of $200,000 for Phase II of the Accountability Plus project, the University System's comprehensive accounta-

bility reporting system.
Most of the budget action regarding the University System's capital construction projects was in the FY 2002 Amended Budget, which was finalized and reported on in late March. However, the General Assembly had good news for the Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) -- legislators voted to add to the '03 Budget funding for four new county libraries, including:
Berrien County Library ($830,000);
Telfair County Library ($1.25 million);
Wheeler County Library ($1 million); and
Clayton County Library ($1.52 million).
In addition to those projects, legislators also voted to give

GPLS $100,000 to increase funding for Georgia PINES, which stands for Public Information Network for Electronic Services. PINES, which was supported initially by state lottery and Y2K funds, is a single automation system shared by 72 percent of Georgia's public library systems that enables the holdings of these libraries to be accessible to any Georgian.
"This is a budget that will allow the University System to maintain its mission, continue to enhance and expand its many special initiatives and serve the citizens of Georgia even better," said Daniel in summary. "We thank all of the legislators and key supporters of the System who helped shape it."

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