State official proposes new funding policy

As a state-aided institution of higher education, the University annually receives more than $28 million in funds from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Currently, the state imposes no guidelines on how that money should be spent, except to specify amounts that will be distributed by the General Assembly to certain University divisions or departments. But state Auditor General Barbara Hafer believes Pennsylvanians have a right to know exactly how their tax dollars are appropriated to institutions of higher education across the state. On Tuesday, she brought her case to the state House of Representatives, offering recommendations on the implementation of allocation guidelines to the newly-created Task Force on Higher Education Funding. "It is no longer sufficient for state-funded entities to simply indicate where our tax dollars are spent," she told the task force. "Now they must answer the question why, and verify that those funds were used to the benefit of our citizens as defined by explicit goals, objectives, and guidelines established by the General Assembly." Hafer emphasized the need for accountability in her testimony before the task force. "The answer to providing accountability for the investment of state dollars in higher education is the establishment of spending guidelines," she said. "These guidelines should delineate allowable expenditures, limitations and penalties for non-compliance." Community college spending in the state is regulated by the State System of Higher Education and governed by directives from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency and the state Department of Education. But no similar regulations exist for state-related universities -- such as the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Pittsburgh -- and state-aided institutions, like Temple and the University. These establishments only need to prove they can spend state money in order to receive it, Hafer said. "The message is finally becoming clear to these schools: They can't have it both ways -- private when they want to avoid public examination of their spending practices, and public when they want taxpayer money," she said, recommending a complete overhaul of the present allocation system. According to Steve Schell, Hafer's press secretary, higher education has always been a priority for the auditor general. "Beginning with audits three and four years ago, we noted an absence of guidelines," he said. "The new approach is offering a recommendation to the General Assembly about a revised allocations process. "When you set guidelines, you can have accountability," Schell added. "Without guidelines, there is no accountability." State Representative Ronald Cowell, who is chairperson of the task force, said he agrees with Hafer's suggestions. "Currently, the General Assembly distributes more than $1.5 billion for higher education across the state without being clear about what we expect in return for that investment," he said. "We need to be more specific and clear in terms of why we're giving appropriations to institutions." Cowell added that he does not expect the imposition of guidelines to change the amount of money appropriated to colleges in the Commonwealth by the General Assembly.

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