Enrollment at the flagships — the glut at Montana State University and deficiency at the University of Montana — was among the topics lawmakers raised Tuesday in a budget discussion at the Montana Legislature.
Rep. Llew Jones, chair of the appropriations subcommittee on education, said more state dollars per student are going to UM. The average state share is $7,539 per student, and UM receives $8,640, according to data from the Montana Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.
Jones said UM had done much work toward rebuilding, and the Republican from Conrad asked President Seth Bodnar about progress in Missoula. Bodnar took the helm at UM in January 2018.
"Are we seeing a point where we are going to equalize and potentially going to rebuild? Or do we have some decline left?" Jones said.
Bodnar said he was pleased with recent leadership changes at UM and its headway to make "perceptions align with reality."
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He didn't directly respond to whether enrollment at UM had bottomed out, but the president said UM is making steady progress to rebuild its student population. UM counted 9,057 full time student equivalents in fall 2018, according to data from the Commissioner's Office.
"This is going to take some time, but I am very optimistic about the work that we've done," Bodnar said.
Tuesday at the subcommittee hearing, lawmakers heard from higher education officials, who pledged to be "good stewards" of state funds and tuition. Gov. Steve Bullock's budget proposes a 7.1 percent increase for campuses of the Montana University System, or an additional $26.8 million, along with a companion tuition freeze.
In response to Bodnar's comments, Jones said as an outsider he's seen UM's advertising improving, and he hoped the effects would be fruitful: "I hope that we've reached a point from which to rebuild or at least slow the decline."
Since 2010, enrollment at UM has dropped 32.3 percent, according to the most recent data from the Commissioner's Office. The decline has caused budget trouble for the flagship, although Bodnar presented a plan last spring to stabilize finances at the campus.
MSU has experienced a nearly identical increase in student enrollment, some 32.6 percent, to 15,284 full time student equivalents since 2010, according to the Commissioner's Office. By comparison, it receives $6,459 per student in state support, the least amount of any campus.
Tuesday, however, lawmakers noted the challenges of an institution that's bursting at the seams.
Rep. Bradley Hamlett said UM has lost students and has buildings with vacancy, yet MSU is growing and needs more space. The Democrat from Cascade wanted to know if the Montana Board of Regents was ensuring campuses weren't duplicating programs.
Commissioner Clayton Christian said that question was one of the most critical ones with which board members grapple. He said the Montana Constitution is vague, but it does guide education leaders to act as one system and avoid unnecessary duplication when possible.
"I certainly take those words to heart. I know the presidents do," Christian said.
He also said the board and a deputy commissioner are working to tighten the process for program approvals in order to better evaluate duplication.
This year, the governor's budget is asking for $32 million for Romney Hall at MSU, and Hamlett wanted to know how important the reconfiguration of that building was, given the rise in enrollment in Bozeman.
If MSU can't meet demands because of space, Hamlett said it will end up hurting students: "Suddenly, you end up closing a door, not opening it."
MSU President Waded Cruzado said the campus must use Romney Hall in its present state, "which is absolutely deplorable," but it could serve 1,000 students an hour after an overhaul, as opposed to 140 students an hour. In the meantime, she raised the issue of equity.
"Those students pay exactly the same tuition as everybody else," Cruzado said.
The hearings of the education appropriations subcommittee are available via live stream and continue Wednesday.
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