Tuition at the University of South Alabama has climbed by about 40 percent since 2008, and the school’s president says there simply isn’t more room to cut before students feel a bigger hit.
“You can’t get blood out of a turnip,” university president Tony Waldrop said, describing the bind the Mobile school found itself in after state appropriations collapsed. Since 2008, the university has lost more than $262 million in pro-rated state funding cumulatively, and by the 2012-2013 school year state support had fallen to about $102.6 million, roughly $40 million less than before the recession hit. The university’s board approved another 3.5 percent tuition increase for the 2014-2015 academic year.
Where the Money Actually Goes
Despite the increases, tuition and fees make up only about 14 percent of the university’s overall revenue, with the largest share, roughly $258 million, coming from patient services tied to the university’s medical operations. On the spending side, salaries account for about 64 percent of total expenses, with supplies and utilities making up another 26 percent and the remainder split between scholarships, interest and depreciation.
University officials pushed back on the idea that rising tuition is funding cosmetic upgrades. Major construction projects like the engineering and computer science building were paid for entirely through federal science grants, while the student recreation center was financed through activity fees and a state bond issue rather than general tuition dollars. New dining and residence facilities are treated as self-funding auxiliary enterprises, paid for by the room and meal plan fees tied directly to those services.
Waldrop, whose base salary of $450,000 is lower than his predecessor’s, said landscaping and campus appearance remain a priority because they influence how prospective students choose a school, even as the university looks for other places to trim costs. Aging infrastructure has become a growing expense of its own; officials noted frequent utility outages and maintenance issues in some of the university’s older buildings as the campus, which marked its 50th anniversary in 2013, continues to show wear.
The university’s student government president acknowledged that students remain concerned about the pace of tuition increases and said student leaders continue pressing administrators for clearer communication about where the money goes. For the 2014-2015 year, full-time tuition at the university totals $8,610 annually, which university officials note is still cheaper than in-state tuition at several other four-year public universities in Alabama.
Waldrop was blunt when asked whether he expected state higher-education funding to ever return to pre-2008 levels, comparing the prospect to still believing in Santa Claus. School officials described the funding shift as a permanent new reality rather than a temporary downturn.