News-Miner Editorial
Studious senators
Finance committee spends 2 days considering the university’s needs
Published Wednesday, October 14, 2009
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Stumble It!Members of the Alaska Senate’s most influential committee will spend today and Thursday in Fairbanks educating themselves about higher education. The Senate Finance Committee’s decision to gather here and devote many hours to understanding the University of Alaska is encouraging news.
Enrollment in the institution is growing steadily, for a variety of reasons. While that’s good for the university, it comes with costs. Tuition doesn’t come close to covering those costs, so the university must rely upon state funding. Finance committee members play a key role in deciding how much money the state spends and where it is spent.
State funding has been adequate on most fronts in recent years, but maintenance and new construction continue to be challenges.
The Fairbanks campus needs substantial upgrades to 1960s and ’70s-era buildings. A dorm was partially closed this year because of rotted pipes, just one example among a myriad where state help is needed.
The university cannot just maintain what it has built in the past, though. It must keep watch on the future.
Toward that end, it has been building its expertise in fields such as northern biology and engineering.
The university has for many years been a leader in biological sciences, but it is on the cusp of taking its status to a new level. It has spent years attracting top staff and improving its research capabilities at the Fairbanks campus.
However, that effort has bumped up against the physical limitations of the buildings here. They’re too old, cramped and lacking in modern equipment. Without a new life sciences building, the university will not be able to attract and keep the caliber of researchers necessary to sustain what has been created in recent years.
Even with oil prices high, the state’s resources are limited. Finance Committee members, including our two Fairbanks senators, have many hard decisions to make about how to allocate the money. In doing so, they should ensure that the state’s money is spent in ways that provide the greatest benefit to the state and its residents. Maintaining and improving our university are two tasks that fit that criterion.
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how much,who and WHY EXACTLY did they pay for the face lift on TVC building on barnette or was that part of the "we're getting a bridge so the visitor's might SEE 'we have to make the outside look nice'!?!?!?!?
Even with oil prices high, the state’s resources are limited. Finance Committee members, including our two Fairbanks senators, have many hard decisions to make about how to allocate the money. In doing so, they should ensure that the state’s money is spent in ways that provide the greatest benefit to the state and its residents. Maintaining and improving our university are two tasks that fit that criterion.
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You forgot to say..."at whatever the cost".
The budget for this ridiculously bloated University system needs to be cut. It is the most expensive (based on state funding per student) state university in the country. And its a 3rd tier University. Unbelievable.
crzys_grl, you might actually care to look at what is being done before being negative. Frightening concept, I realize, but some of us actually do it. Then you might have found out that the "face lift" is actually being done to put some actual insulation on the old Courthouse building - you know, the stuff that keeps the heat in, lowers costs, and makes it a place that allied health students can wear latex gloves instead of insulated mittens when learning how to help keep us all healthy. The old building had damn near no insulation at all (R4!!!!!). The inside renovations were part of a long term plan to convert a courthouse into classrooms, labs, etc., since the top two floors haven't been renovated yet.
And how do you find such info? Well, you can go to google, type in "TVC renovation", and all sorts of information pops up.
So far Fairbanks is the only one in the State that offers a Ph.D. Anchorage is going to start pulling for their system to get to offer the degree. In the meantime they are talking about cutting the rural part of the University system and possibly closing some of their centers. The restructuring of the University once it starts will be interesting to watch. By the way, maybe the University should join the here and now and begin to offer on line courses. One way for one professor to teach people all around Alaska. In a State the size of Alaska with such a limited population, offering on line courses and independent studies makes sense. Other States have been doing it for decades, why is this State so far behind on this.
"Rotting pipes" ??? What, are they made of cheese?
axe2grind - are you familiar with the concept of corrosion? hmm?
FreeDarfur - UA has been offering online courses since the early 90s, and distance delivers all over the state, and even to high schools where the kids are interested and adequate facilities exist. Maybe you should read the articles in the paper instead of posting your bloviations. The topic gets covered at least once a quarter.
FreeDarfur,
The University already offers online as well as distance courses and has for years (took some online from them a few years back).
Also, the reason UAF is the only one offering PhD's is supposed to be a consolidation of resources. It's more expensive to offer PhD's at two locations than one because of the staff required, labs, facilities, etc. Personally, I'd rather they stay cost effective in that sense.
But I don't understand why they want to build more buildings if they can barely afford to maintain what they have. That makes no sense.
axe2grind - are you familiar with the concept of corrosion? hmm?
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Darlin - water lines used in the 60's/70's don't appreciably corrode.
Here we go again, Power. Trotting out more ridiculous, unverifiable and unsourced facts? UA is really the most expensive university in the country, based on a State funding per student basis? Really? Can you prove this?
Why don't you cite a source to back up your claim? Why didn'y you cite this source last week? Why not?
BECAUSE YOU MADE IT UP! Am I wrong? THEN PROVE IT!
"BECAUSE YOU MADE IT UP! Am I wrong? THEN PROVE IT!"
Easy man, he is just doing his thing. His thing is lying and he is not very good at it. Go easy on him, none of us are perfect,
dog
I just wonder how many classes were failed to make him so bitter...
Students can actually fail classes at UAF? I thought you got a C for just attending.
http://www.iser.uaa.alaska.edu/Publicati...
Between 2000 and 2007 the UA system increased enrollement by 5%.
The full time staff increased by 35%
"Instrucitonal" expenidtures increased by 77%
There may be a problem....
Oops...Instructional
So you've never been there then O? Just what IS your problem with UAF?
Power, did you post the wrong link? I don't see any backup for your garbage claims on that page!
Sure, UA has problems. We already know you're not perfect--you're a lying assho1e!
Try telling the truth, for once! Stop making stuff up! You don't like the University? Fine. You don't have to like it.
You know, IdiotPower, you remind me of someone who once posted here, under many names... He didn't like firemen. Didn't seem to care about anything else, but man oh man he hated firemen. You know, he disappeared around the same time you showed up. Coincidence, Mike?
UAF is one of the best bargains on 4-year higher education institutions in the country, especially for in state students. (for what it's worth, my state school now costs around $35,000 a year to attend.) we should be trying to keep the best and brightest students in alaska, not shipping them out to lower 48 schools. that seems to me to be a good reason to give the university funding
Incidentally, PoweroftheLie, what you didn't mention from your link is that credit hours also increased by 16%. That means those extra 5% of students aren't the only increase in workload faced by the faculty.
But, again, facts aren't your thing.
Henry - does a 16% increase in credit hours justify a 77% percent increase in expenditures? In your crazy liberal world I am sure it does.
Did I say it did justify such an increase?
Or did you simply assume? As usual.
Still waiting on sources, Power!
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