As part of its legislative agenda for this year, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education will ask state lawmakers for $1.06 billion in funding.
That's $76.3 million more than the legislature appropriated last year — a 7.7 percent increase. Chancellor Glen Johnson said regents know the state budget is tight and could fall short of projections, but the state's schools are trying to work with lawmakers.
"We're not just out there making requests," Johnson said. "We've saved — over the last five years — $450 million dollars. Those are documented savings, and we understand it's important to do that to point out what we've raised and generated with research grants and things of that nature to where we show we've done all that before we make the request."
The additional funding will go toward the main goal on the regents' legislative agenda: Getting more students to earn degrees from the state's colleges.
Oklahoma's goal under the Complete College America initiative is to increase the number of degrees and certificates earned by 67 percent by 2023. That works out to 1,700 more degrees and certificates a year, starting in 2011.
Johnson said a study indicating higher education has a $9.2 billion impact on the state economy and supports more than 85,000 jobs needs to be part of the conversation.
"Our feeling is we need to make that case and hopefully make the case that whatever they can do in terms of additional funding, it is an investment," Johnson said. "And it's an investment that will drive a stronger economy and a higher per-capita income in the state."
The additional funding would go to programs related to achieving the degree and certificate goal, including enhanced access to online education, getting more students into higher education institutions and guiding students through their college careers.
Since 1980, higher education has dropped from 18.6 percent of total state appropriations to 14.6 percent. State appropriations also make up an increasingly smaller portion of the total higher education budget, falling from 74.2 percent in 1988 to 38.7 percent last year.
There are two other items on the regents' legislative agenda. The regents are asking lawmakers to keep supporting the Oklahoma's Promise scholarship, which provides funding to around 19,000 students. The regents are also committed to keeping guns off university campuses.
Bills to allow guns on campus have come up in the last six legislative sessions. The regents say preventing such legislation from becoming law will continue to be a priority.
