Wednesday, February 7, 2001
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The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 7
7
Legislature may eliminate state's matched funds
By Andrew Davies
writer @ kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
University of Kansas students could have trouble preparing for technology in their careers if the state legislature adoptss Governor Bill Graves' proposed budget, which would eliminate matching state funds for technology at Board of Regents universities.
the proposed bud get would eliminate matching funds for the student instructional technology fee, which had been included in the state budget each of the last three years.
Students paid a $1 fee for every credit hour, they were
college received was based on the number of credit hours its students were enrolled in.
"Every student all 30,000 will be negatively affected if the state doesn't renew the
enrolled in. The state doubled that amount, paying the University $2 for each student credit hour.
Last year, the University received $1.8 million from the fee.
Rooney said almost every field required some sort of experience in technology, but many employers would train an employee who had basic technological skills if the individual was motivated, honest, and could communicate well.
But she said employers in the fields of engineering, computer science and information technology demanded high technological skills more than any other area.
Gail Rooney, director of the University Career and Employment Services, said technology skills were becoming more important to employers.
"We do have employers saying technology skills are important for nearly every employee that they hire," she said.
Jack Porter, chairman of the mathematics department, said the technology fee allowed the math department to update computers for all math classes.
"We've been able to keep up with technology to some extent and that's been real helpful for us," he said.
fee."
One-third was awarded to special projects submitted by different schools and departments. This year, more than 70 proposals were submitted. Thirty-eight of those proposals were awarded funds, including $30,000 for video projectors in Crafton-Preyer Theatre and $16,050 for computer work stations in the physics
Porter said the technology fee cut would lower the opportunities of math majors after graduation.
"It would certainly hurt them seriously," he said.
Richard Givens, assistant provost, said the money was divided and used in three ways.
One-third went to the college of liberal arts and sciences and each professional school. The amount each school and the
and astronomy departments
Aaron Profitt
Overland Park senior
and astronomy departments. The last third went to infrastructure improvements and funding for libraries. The funds provided new projectors for Hoch Auditoria in Budig Hall and
improvements in networking and wiring that helped bring technology to the classroom.
Givens said the technology fees had been important because they put technology in the classroom.
"We didn't have very much technology," he said. "It's been a very, very important and useful part of the improvement of education, teaching and laboratory experiments for the students."
He said it would be tough for the University to improve technology without the fee because operating budgets were increasing in such small amounts.
Aaron Profiff, Overland Park senior was a member of the committee that awarded money to proposals submitted. He said losing the fee would hurt every University student and every department.
"Every student — all 30,000 — will be negatively affected if the state doesn't renew the fee," he said. "It's basically going to cut everyone's money across the board."
Montgomery said, however, that stu
Proffit said although the lack of funds would hurt everyone, a few programs could take bigger hits than others.
"I'm afraid that if the state does not provide money, certain programs will have to discontinue," he said. "My perception is probably the biggest loss will be in fine arts."
Toni-Marie Montgomery, dean of the School of Fine Arts, said no programs would be cut if the technology fee did not continue. But, she said the school would not be able to update technology as often without the technology fee.
dents could lose the experience of completing projects.
"Unless we have funding for student collaborative projects, they just can't occur," she said.
But some say the state could not afford to include the matching funds in this year's budget, which will go to the state legislature later this spring.
Duane Goossen, Kansas budget director, said the technology fee was an "extra" the state could not afford.
"It was considered to be a three-year (program), and we funded it for three years," he said. "In trying to divide up the money, which was difficult, we did not renew it for another year."
Goossen said the budget spent all extra money on education and social services. He said as part of a higher-education restructuring program, faculty received a raise of $21 million the last two years.
Don Brown, communications director for the governor, said the state budgeted
funds for the plan during the last three years, but could not afford to this year because of, among other things, increases for faculty and public safety officer's salaries.
Brown said a constitutional amendment barred the budget from spending more than was available.
Jessica Bankston, San Angelo, Texas, junior and the legislative director of the Student Legislative Awareness Board, said the board wanted to get the money back.
"I think our efforts on the 14th will be really important to get people's attention on the issue and, hopefully, get the money back," she said.
She said SLAB would lobby at the state's education day Wednesday and try to gain support.
Bankston said SLAB would also lobby at the KU lobbying day, which has yet to be set, and is discussing setting up a letter writing campaign.
Economical concerns cause banks to be wary of lending
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Banks continued to tighten credit allowed to businesses and were more cautious about lending to consumers in the last three months, citing worries about the faltering economy, the Federal Reserve said Monday.
A Federal survey said 54.4 percent of banks reported stricter lending policies for large and middle-sized companies, an increase from 45.6 percent in the previous survey.
"In general, banks indicated that the most important reasons for tightening standards and terms were a worsening economic outlook and a reduced tolerance for risk," said the survey of loan officers from 57 large domestic banks and 24 U.S. branches of foreign banks.
On the consumer side, 20.4 percent of banks reported they slightly tightened credit standards for approving applications for consumer loans other than credit-card loans. That was nearly double the 11.1 percent from the previous survey.
However, virtually all domestic banks reported no change in standards or demand for residential mortgage loans. While the rapidly slowing economy has hurt some sectors, such as manufacturing, the housing market is remaining healthy, helped by cheaper mortgage rates.
Seeking to prevent the weakening economy from slipping into a recession, the Fed cut interest rates again last week, the second half point reduction in January. The lower borrowing costs are almed at boosting business investment and consumer spending, which would rev up economic growth.
The economy slowed dramatically in the last three months of 2005, growing at an annual rate of just 1.4 percent, the weakest performance in more than five years. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan estimated growth in the current quarter could be very close to zero.
The severity of the drop in economic activity caught the Fed by surprise, but private analysts said the aggressive interest rate cuts with the promise of more to come should be enough to keep the country out of recession.
Greenspan said a big factor in whether the country slipped into a recession was whether consumer confidence, which had fallen from high levels, could hold up during the slow down.
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