University of Delaware makes its pitch for $123 million in state funding

The university is requesting nearly $123 million to support its programs, an increase from last year’s $120 million appropriation.

“We want to share with you how strategic investments in higher education would benefit the entire state now and for decades to come,” UD President Dennis Assanis told the committee. “The University of Delaware enjoys very productive partnerships with all higher education institutions in Delaware. We work together to serve the education needs of Delawareans and help develop the economy of our state.”

The university’s argument

For fiscal year 2019, the university received $120,660.80 in state funding, with about 76 percent of the funds going to operation costs. Scholarships received another sizable chunk of the budget.

In their presentation, UD officials laid out what they considered to be the university's most significant offerings to the state, leading up to why they’re asking for $2.25 million more this year.

Assanis discussed the university’s plans for a new scholarship program, which would “complement the state's SEED and INSPIRE programs,” he said.

The university would like to cover tuition and fees for every Delaware student whose family has an adjusted gross income of $75,000 a year or less. The scholarship would include transfer students.

“That threshold is the median family income for Delaware, which means that half of the state's families would qualify,” he noted.

To accomplish that, the university is requesting a phased-in commitment, beginning at $2.25 million this year, then increasing over four years.

This staggered approach would mean that they would add $2.25 million in the first year, $4.5 million in the second, $6.75 million in the third and $9 million in the fourth, equaling about $22 million total. 

Assanis also noted programs and projects that have already been rolled out that are added benefits to the state.

He pointed to the recent Spectrum Scholars, a program that will support students with autism who are majoring in computer and information science or electrical and computer engineering; the College Readiness Scholars Institute, a program that helps successful high students from low-income backgrounds receive college preparation; and an increase in minority students and staff.

Assanis also pointed to other recent initiatives, like Finish in Four – a program that removes the credit cap and allows students to take more courses in a semester without paying extra.

“Now, you might have said, ‘Aren't you losing some income from tuition?’ We are,” Assanis said, noting that they expected to lose under $1 million dollars of revenue from tuition. “Well, we underestimated the success of the program. We're losing more than $3 million dollars of revenue. But we're very proud we're doing that, because it's really letting students graduate on time.”

Outside of academic strides, Assanis also turned his attention to the STAR Campus, which channels educational opportunities and economic ones.

“Chemours has told us that if it wasn't for UD and the STAR Campus, they would have left our state, and all those wonderful job should have gone to Connecticut,” he said. “So we're proud to have assisted our state in this way.”

Assanis also cited a recent economic impact study, which was commissioned by the university.

“The university's direct spending, and its ripple effect, support more than 24,000 jobs in Delaware,” he said. “In all, UD has $2.8 billion impact on the state of Delaware. That means that every dollar that the state invests in the university through our annual appropriation generates $23 for Delaware's economy.”

What the committee had to say

Many of the elected officials did not hold back, even with the praise they had for the university’s strides.

While State Sen. Bruce Ennis noted that arguing against INSPIRE and SEED “is like arguing against apple pie and motherhood,” he pointed out that higher education and public education this year alone would account for just over 40 percent of the state's total budget, leaving just under 60 percent for all other state agencies.

“So, while I support SEED and INSPIRE, in reality you know the makeup of the budget to cover these other agencies year after year gets very difficult,” he told the UD officials. “I just want to bring that to your attention.”

State Rep. Earl Jacques turned his attention to the number of Delaware students enrolled as undergraduates on the university’s main campus.

“Because your ask is almost $123 million,” he said. “So my residents would like to know how many Delawareans are we really helping? Are we moving forward and all that?”

The university estimated it to be about 39 percent, with Assanis noting that, “Honestly, we take every Delawarean that is qualified. And that's why we're putting so much money into the pipeline programs.”

For some, the talking points the university considered to be its strengths seemed to be its weaknesses. Several committee members faulted the university for its big class sizes – with some introductory courses with students in the hundreds.

Assanis said much of the money allocated from the state goes to hiring faculty in order to reduce the faculty-to-student ratio.

“We're now down to 13 to one, which is pretty amazing because at the best private schools, you don't even find that in a number of them,” he said.

In terms of keeping education affordable, State Sen. Laura Sturgeon said that the numbers weren’t adding up for her.

She noted that, when she was an undergraduate at the university in 1983, tuition was about $4,000 per year.

“I crunched the numbers and the tuition of $13,680 is about 3.5 times what it was. And inflation is 2.5 times what it was,” she said, adding that the Finish in Four initiative puts the burden of a cheaper education on the student.

“If you're really looking at trying for the students to get an in-depth education, it's not always in their best interest to just pile on the credits, because they're then just doing the minimum to get a passing grade,” she said. “So I don't like that approach to making it more affordable. It's doing nothing to address the cost of tuition; it's addressing affordability, but not addressing the cost of tuition.”

State Sen. Dave Lawson noted the increase in the university’s request.

“I've been here six years, and every year the ask gets bigger and bigger and bigger. Where do the taxpayers get off the train?” he asked.

“In my three years that I've come to this, every time we've asked for the same operating appropriation. I never asked for more,” Assanis responded. “This is the first time I came in and asked for more in the operating because I think it is a very worthy cause. I want to make the education free for for the families that have children and they make less than $75,000.”

He did note, however, that those students would still be paying for room and board. He added that students do not have to live on campus to keep costs down.

The university’s recent ranking as Princeton Review’s No. 1 party school also loomed large in the conversation.

“I saw a banner recently advertising Coors beer with the University of Delaware emblem on it.” Lawson noted. “I'm not investing money, taxpayer money, to advertise Coors beer.”

Assanis said that the university is taking steps to remove the banner.

Provost Robin Morgan noted that to combat the party culture, the university’s student life department is hosting events Thursdays through Saturdays to provide late-night alternatives so students have options other than “behave in ways that are not responsible,” she said.

“I'm not going to tell you there aren't a few students at the University of Delaware who are very proud that it's a big party school,” she continued. “But we're not proud of that. And we have many, many students who are embarrassed by that designation and want to promote UD as a place of hope, a place of building one's future.”

Lawson added that he doesn’t intend to “cut down” the university, as he believes it does a great job.

“But sometimes it gives the impression, at least to the taxpayers, that there's a gravy train going on here, and they're not seeing the benefit,” he said. “So how do we better shine up the University of Delaware so that the public sees the benefit of another $122 million coming out of their pocket going into yours?”