By Zebrina Edgerton-Maloy
Virginia Military Institute will not cut any of its programs or lay off any employees, despite losing more than $440,000 in state aid this year.
But the cuts will mean employees won’t get a 2 percent bonus this year.
There have been no raises statewide since the recession six years ago, said Col. Stewart MacInnis, a college spokesman. Employees have received bonuses from the state and from VMI, but no raises.
“People haven’t had a raise in a long time,” MacInnis said. “We do want to help out as best we can.”
VMI kicked off the public phase of a $225 million fundraising campaign during the 175th anniversary of VMI’s founding on Tuesday. The campaign is called “An Uncommon Purpose: A Glorious Past, a Brilliant Future: The Campaign for VMI.”
Already, $180 million has been raised toward the goal. Funds raised by the campaign will be directed into academics, athletics, corps life, unrestricted annual gifts and programs to preserve VMI’s legacy.
Private funding for a public education
A quarter of the budget comes from private funds such as these to keep VMI’s programs running, said Scott Belliveau, director of communications.
“Without private funding, VMI is not VMI,” Belliveau said. “Our goal is to increase private support as much as possible.”
But VMI will not be using the money raised during the campaign, MacInnis said.
“We will be using the interest that is generated,” he said. “That’s a big selling point for the campaign is that the state funds are disappearing. It’s not going to be the only solution here.”
A national effort
Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s office told state universities in September to develop plans to save 5 percent this budget year and 7 percent next year.
The state is trying to make up a $2.4 billion budget shortage overall.
The state cuts come at a time there is “federal pressure to maintain affordability,” according to The Roanoke Times.
However, a decrease in state funding would have the opposite effect on tuition and college expenses, said Tim Diette, associate professor of economics.
“[Colleges are] getting squeezed on both sides,” he said. “It’s going to put upward pressure on tuition and essentially make it [harder] for them to meet the federal goals.”
Tuition is a big thing, MacInnis said.
“I don’t think we’re going to be pushing hard on increasing tuition,” MacInnis said. “There may be other measures we can take to either generate more in tuition revenues other than raising tuition.”
The Obama administration is also proposing a national college rating system to hold colleges accountable for performance and to lower college tuition and fees.
An institution’s eligibility for federal student financial aid money would be linked to its rating. The ratings system would let students and families pick colleges with better aid packages, the Obama administration said.
But advocates for colleges say the proposal is seriously flawed. In July, presidents from 50 Virginia colleges signed a letter protesting the rating system. VMI Superintendent Gen. Binford Peay III, Southern Virginia University President Paul Sybrowsky, and Washington and Lee University President Ken Ruscio signed the letter.
In the letter, the presidents say the ratings system would rely on flawed data, would place too much importance on graduates’ earnings, and would discourage colleges from accepting low-income and part-time students.
“The thinking is that the policy may not be mature at this point,” MacInnis said. “It could affect state schools’ attempt to support disadvantaged students. A one-size-fits-all system might not work.”
Future concerns
Meanwhile, MacInnis said, VMI is worried about the effect of more budget tightening.
“We can take some more funding cuts without affecting programs or jobs,” he said. “But how much, I’m not sure. There comes a point where something else has to give.”
More state-ordered cuts would mean across-the-board reductions to academic programs, facilities and support services, MacInnis said.
But the school still is not anticipating layoffs.
“We think we’ll be able to manage it,” MacInnis said. “VMI has been through tough economic times before. What we’re trying to do is… minimize the impact on the employees [and] minimize the impact on cadets.”