/ NEWS / MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
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Committee discusses financial aid
ENATE
BY STEPHEN
MONTEMAYOR
smontemayor@kansan.com
University Senate is looking into the possibility of a tuition assistance program for faculty and staff. The program could provide free or reduced tuition for dependents, spouses and domestic partners of faculty and staff members, and/or faculty and staff members themselves.
Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said the concept is mentioned frequently at universities and the benefit is often offered by private universities.
turrier states.
She said she didn't know anyone who objects to the idea.
"It would be a wonderful benefit to have for the faculty and staff," Gray-Little said. "The question is who pays for it."
Gray-Little said funding would likely have to come from the state, tuition paid for by other students or through private donations. All three areas are of current concern as state funding is down, tuition continues to rise in reaction to the dips in state funding and the University is constantly seeking to increase donations.
"If they net new students out of this, the cost might not be too prohibitive."
LISA WOLF-WENDEL
Leader of SenEx task force
Another area the task force needs to explore, Gray-Little said, is the event of being unable to offer the benefit to all of these students.
Committee, or SenEx, approved a task force on the matter in September and University Senate approved a list of proposed charges for the task force to look at its Oct. 7 meeting.
"Is it for students who are higher achieving or for students that need financial aid?" Gray-Little asked
Lisa Wolf-Wendel, professor of educational leadership and policy studies, leads the task force and first brought up the idea when she was faculty senate president last year. She said the idea for the benefit comes after two years of no pay raises for staff and faculty members. In addition, Wolf-Wendel said, insurance premiums have risen, meaning faculty and staff are essentially paid less than they were two years ago.
The University Senate Executive
"We should have our benefits and salary package match those places to whom we aspire to be like if possible so that we can either keep or get people we wouldn't otherwise get," she
said.
"If they net new students out of this the cost might not be too prohibitive," Wolf-Wendel said.
Wolf-Wendel also said the program could have spillover benefits in that it retains and recruits faculty while possibly adding students who might have gone elsewhere.
This year's faculty senate president Ben Eggleston said if the task force recommended the benefit and that recommendation were endorsed by University Senate, the approval of the University's administration would still be needed. Beyond that, the Board of Regents
would need to hear the proposal.
and nothing should be taken as a settled proposal just yet.
Wolf-Wendel said she hopes to have a proposal for the Chancellor and Provost by the spring and to be able to present it to the Board of Regents next fall.
Regents next hall:
She said Pittsburg State University and Fort Hays State University already offer similar programs. Private universities such as Vanderbilt pay tuition for dependents of faculty and staff even if they go to another university.
they go to attend. The University offers a tuition assistance program for staff members and Coca-Cola scholarships for dependents of staff members who are freshmen.
who are freshmen.
Wolf-Wendel said a tuition assistance program could mean that the scholarship money provided by Coca-Cola could be freed up for students who aren't dependents of faculty and staff members. Another possible scenario, she said, would be to pair the scholarships with tuition reductions, effectively making tuition free through a combination of factors.
Wolf-Wendel said students not eligible for the tuition assistance would not have to foot the bill for those who are.
"The benefit to students who aren't dependents is you increase your odds of recruiting and retaining better employees and faculty," she said. "So that's the benefit to you."
Wolf-Wendel said faculty and staff receive basic health care and retirement benefits but compared to most institutions those benefits are minimal.
"I think it's not an issue that will be settled on the basis of whether it's a good idea or if people are in favor of it," Gray-Little said. "but, really, how can you do it and be fair to the others who would be involved."
Gray-Little said she agreed that the proposal was a natural response from faculty and staff.
Edited by Abby Davenport
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