Published: Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008 / Updated: Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008 12:51 AM

Colleges absorb cuts

Both Winthrop University and York Technical College have been resourceful in holding the line after being hit with state budget cuts. We hope both schools will be able to maintain the quality of their programs without having to resort to significant fee and tuition hikes in the months ahead.

Facing a $488 million budget shortfall, state lawmakers slashed $3.4 million from Winthrop's budget and $1.2 million from York Tech's budget. Both schools have sought to avoid layoffs and severe tuition or fee increases.

Winthrop will charge students a $50 fee for the spring semester to offset the loss. But the school will absorb $3.2 million -- or 94 percent -- of the overall cut. Winthrop hopes to save money by limiting travel; increasing some class sizes and decreasing the number of sections offered; limiting hours some buildings will be open; and holding some staff and faculty vacancies open while spreading work among other employees.

York Tech expects that rising enrollment will offset much of the $1.2 million cut, preventing the need for layoffs or tuition increases. But by leaving vacant positions unfilled and with no plans to hire more faculty, class sizes will rise. The school also has asked each department to cut spending by 1 percent.

State Rep. Gary Simrill, R-Rock Hill, took issue with Winthrop's decision to raise student fees. He said a fee hike "should be off the table," and urged Winthrop to find another solution.

It's ironic that Simrill would vote to approve a significant cut in the already meager state contribution to higher education and then complain when schools resort to one of the few other available revenue sources to offset the cuts.

With the latest cuts, Winthrop receives only 15 percent of its funding from the state. For York Tech, it's only 23 percent.

South Carolina invests only half as much as Georgia does in its public institutions of higher learning, and only a third as much as North Carolina. Overall, South Carolina's appropriations for four-year colleges and universities have steadily declined over the past seven years. So, to maintain the quality of education, those institutions have had little choice but to raise tuition and fees.

While the latest cuts result from a statewide budget shortfall, most of the financial challenges faced by Winthrop, York Tech and other state institutions result from long-term neglect by the state. And the future looks similarly gloomy: The latest revenue projections for next year indicate another $135 million shortfall.

The state probably can weather a few years of hard times with cuts and reduced services. But it is hard to see how colleges and universities can maintain high standards with ever-decreasing support from the state.