The final two-year budget approved by Ohio lawmakers Wednesday gives the state’s public universities a financial boost – about 1% – which is lower than the current rate of inflation.
That percentage is according to the Inter-University Council (or IUC), the lobbying group representing the state’s 14 public four-year universities.
The money won’t be split evenly across all of those insitutions. Instead, the small bump will be delivered through a funding formula known as the State Share of Instruction (or SSI). This formula is the main way the state supports institutions, taking into account factors such as how many students colleges enroll and graduate.
The budget also gives colleges a chance to earn additional money if they hit several new benchmarks, including offering three-year bachelor’s degrees and giving more opportunities for high school students to take college courses.
The Ohio House and Senate each passed their own budget plans earlier this spring before coming together during the last week to settle differences. The House’s initial plan proposed giving colleges slightly more money than the Senate.
Key lawmakers from each chamber – known as a conference committee – worked out the final version of Wednesday’s vote. No Democrats supported the measure.
The budget now heads to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who can sign it into law or decide to use his veto powers on certain issues.
Ohio support for higher education trails other states
This increase is a change from what other states are doing right now. Lawmakers in Utah delivered a 10% cut to public universities there, while leaders in Mississippi are cutting higher education budgets by 5%, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
It’s also less than what the colleges’ lobbying group wanted to see. The IUC spent much of the year advocating for a 2% increase.
As Signal Ohio reported earlier this month, state higher education chancellor Mike Duffey even asked college presidents to hold off on any potential tuition increases until lawmakers finalized the budget.
“This kind of action can…offend the sensibilities of the legislature when it occurs before the budget has officially become law,” he wrote in a March 4 letter, according to public records. “It typically results in media coverage.”
Ohio’s financial support for universities and colleges has long trailed the average level of support other states give to higher education.
This latest budget proposal comes just days before a new higher education overhaul law is set to go into effect. Critics say Senate Bill 1 will require campuses to fund new programs and resources, placing additional strain on schools’ already-tight budgets.
This story was updated July 2 to reflect the increase is 1%, as calculated by the Inter-University Council.