The now-defunct Corinthian College isn't the only higher-ed institution making ugly financial headlines this week. Down on the bayou, a prominent state-sponsored not-for-profit is on the brink as well.
With a budget crisis roiling the state capitol in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, LSU, the state's flagship college, is preparing to file the academic equivalent of bankruptcy, Bloomberg reports. If the drastic measure becomes necessary, it would allow the school to lay off tenured faculty and even consolidate departments.
The crisis in Baton Rouge has been playing out for years in slow motion across most states, as states have systematically disinvested in higher education, placing more and more of the burden on student tuition.
Not surprisingly, the organizations that represent college professors are not thrilled with the prospect of tenured careers facing the budget knife.
"More people (who) have the means to do so will leave Louisiana for college and get their college educations elsewhere," Jordan Kurland, associate general secretary of the National American Association of University Professors told NBC News.
By any measure, the budget numbers are daunting. As Inside Higher Ed notes, "the state faces a $1.6 billion budget deficit, and speculation of up to $300 million in cuts to higher education started appearing in news stories back in January. Since then, the worst-case scenario has only grown worse."
"Louisianas general fund contribution to higher education this year will be $924 million. But unless the legislature takes action within the next 45 days, that number plummets to $391 million for the next fiscal year, which starts in July," Inside Higher Ed adds.
Gov. Bobby Jindal's office hopes to close the budget gap with a combination of spending cuts and tightening of corporate tax breaks.
This is exactly why we proposed cutting over $500 million in corporate welfare to help protect higher education, Kyle Plotkin, Jindals chief of staff, told Bloomberg in an email. There are some corporations in our state that are paying zero in taxes and getting free taxpayer-funded checks from the state.
With a budget crisis roiling the state capitol in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, LSU, the state's flagship college, is preparing to file the academic equivalent of bankruptcy, Bloomberg reports. If the drastic measure becomes necessary, it would allow the school to lay off tenured faculty and even consolidate departments.
The crisis in Baton Rouge has been playing out for years in slow motion across most states, as states have systematically disinvested in higher education, placing more and more of the burden on student tuition.
Not surprisingly, the organizations that represent college professors are not thrilled with the prospect of tenured careers facing the budget knife.
"More people (who) have the means to do so will leave Louisiana for college and get their college educations elsewhere," Jordan Kurland, associate general secretary of the National American Association of University Professors told NBC News.
By any measure, the budget numbers are daunting. As Inside Higher Ed notes, "the state faces a $1.6 billion budget deficit, and speculation of up to $300 million in cuts to higher education started appearing in news stories back in January. Since then, the worst-case scenario has only grown worse."
"Louisianas general fund contribution to higher education this year will be $924 million. But unless the legislature takes action within the next 45 days, that number plummets to $391 million for the next fiscal year, which starts in July," Inside Higher Ed adds.
Gov. Bobby Jindal's office hopes to close the budget gap with a combination of spending cuts and tightening of corporate tax breaks.
This is exactly why we proposed cutting over $500 million in corporate welfare to help protect higher education, Kyle Plotkin, Jindals chief of staff, told Bloomberg in an email. There are some corporations in our state that are paying zero in taxes and getting free taxpayer-funded checks from the state.
