In the wake of recent announcements of budget cuts to Connecticut’s Higher Education system, it seems that the state government may be forgetting about the important role our research university plays in the state. The University of Connecticut and other research universities are part of a grand bargain to have a substantial impact on society and the economy. Emerging theories in mathematics, medicine and music pave the way for future industries and opportunities for graduating students.
University of Connecticut
Posted inEducation, Money
College leaders decry proposed cuts; ‘It’s grim’ says Herbst
At many of the state’s public colleges – which collectively enroll 150,000 students – tuition could rise, course offerings would shrink, class sizes would increase, library hours would be cut and some degrees would no longer be offered, the state’s higher education leaders testified Wednesday.
Posted inEducation, Money
Malloy: Shift health care, pension costs to universities
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget would transfer the responsibility for health care, retirement and other fringe benefit costs for thousands of employees to the state’s public colleges and universities – a move college leaders have warned will probably result in a lot of red ink in their budgets.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
UConn is not above the FOI law
UConn has become one of the great public universities in the country. Deservedly so. But it is not above the law, including the state’s Freedom of Information Act. Unfortunately, UConn seems to think otherwise.
Posted inEducation, Health, Money
Auditors: UConn Health paid $192,500 to resigning CEO
UConn Health paid $192,500 to the former John Dempsey Hospital CEO who chose to resign because of a pending reorganization – a waste of resources, state auditors wrote in a report released Wednesday.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Faculty must have a say in determining UConn’s future
The staunch advocates for public higher education and stewards of the state’s future – UConn-AAUP- should have a strong role in influencing university decisions that impact the common and public good.
Unfortunately we have witnessed exclusionary praxis from the UConn administration in recent months – dismissing the role of UConn-AAUP and leaving them out of vital decision-making. If this pattern continues where educators don’t have a voice in student learning conditions, scholarly work, or university direction, then the quality of education at the University of Connecticut will suffer immensely.
Posted inEducation
Senate saves Perkins student loan program
WASHINGTON– The nation’s oldest student loan program, which had expired in September, has been temporarily revived by the Senate. The Perkins loan program was available at most of Connecticut’s four-year colleges and has helped thousands of students in the state.
Posted inEducation
UConn raises tuition, promises major budget cuts
It just became more expensive to attend the University of Connecticut: By 2019, tuition will be $3,275 more than this year. But students aren’t likely to see added services for the increased cost.
Posted inEducation
Mixed reactions from Malloy, lawmakers on UConn tuition hike
What a difference four years makes. In 2011, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy during his budget address to the General Assembly called on the University of Connecticut not to increase tuition at a faster rate than inflation. He made the request even though state funding cuts to to the public university were inevitable as lawmakers grappled with closing a […]
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Health, Justice, Money, Politics, Transportation
Democrats: Suspend public financing of elections, cut transportation and local aid
The leaders of the legislature’s Democratic majority Monday recommended suspending the state’s public-financing of elections for 2016, cutting social services and retreating from two major initiatives on transportation and municipal aid.
Posted inEducation, Health, Justice, Money, Politics
Malloy pitches $350M in cuts; GOP wants mix of cuts, labor savings
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy presented legislators Thursday with almost $350 million in budget-cutting options that would fall heavily on social services, education and municipal aid, according to documents obtained by The Mirror. Meanwhile, leaders of the legislature’s Republican minority offered an array of spending cuts and new restrictions on state employees’ wages and benefits, all of which presumably would require negotiations with labor unions.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
UConn faculty not to blame for tuition hikes
The University of Connecticut administration attribute the need for another tuition increase to labor contracts with university faculty. This is not the case. We agree with the administration that declines in state appropriations are a primary cause of the UConn budget shortfall, but there is little evidence to support the claim that faculty salaries and benefits alone are driving up expenses.
Posted inEducation
UConn again looking to tuition increases to fill budget gap
The University of Connecticut will consider closing up to one-third of its $40.2 million budget shortfall by boosting how much it costs students to attend the public university.
Posted inPolitics
Congress debates Puerto Rico aid as more islanders head for CT
WASHINGTON — Puerto Rico’s financial problems, which are nearing a crisis stage, have sped the migration of its residents to Connecticut and the rest of the mainland, but Congress is stalled on proposals to help the island.
Posted inPolitics
Bill Clinton honored at UConn for human rights
STORRS – It was a wistful Bill Clinton who took the stage Thursday night to accept a human rights award, a 69-year-old grandfather with a raspy voice, weighted with regret for abuses he failed to stop as president, buoyed by hope for good works to come.