2007 Session Recap
Faculty Recruitment & Retention
Primarily because of salary competitiveness issues, BSU is losing some of our best and brightest faculty to other states and having trouble attracting high quality faculty to Boise .
Of BSU’s 470 tenured or tenure-track faculty, 417 or 89% have some salary equity need.
The largest salary disparity is at the highest rank of full professor where BSU professors lag their peers by an average of 21%.
Legislative Action:
The Governor recommended and the Legislature appropriated funding for a 5% merit-based pay increase for state employees including all higher education institutions.
A separate request for additional salary funding for faculty was not recommended by the Governor nor funded by JFAC
The Legislature passed a law that will increase the employer’s contribution to the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) from below 8% to over 9%.
The Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) provides a portable, define contribution plan for faculty and professional staff.
Need Based Scholarships & Loans
BSU supports the Opportunity Scholarship developed by the State Board of Education’s task force
Idaho must do more to make higher education accessible for lower and middle class residents.
The state provides less than $1 million a year for need-based financial aid. Nationally, need based aid averages $387 per full-time equivalent undergraduate student per year. In Idaho , that number is $17.
Legislative Action:
The Governor recommended and the Legislature created the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship to provide “last dollar” financial resources to Idaho students who are economically disadvantaged and who commit to successful completion of the academic preparation necessary to be regularly admitted to an eligible Idaho institution of higher education
To fund the new scholarship, the Governor and Legislature reached a compromise that provided $1.9 million in ongoing money to fund approximately 624 annual scholarships of $3,000 each and $10 million to establish the corpus of an endowment fund whose earnings would fund more scholarships
Permanent Building Fund (PBF) Funding for New Campus Construction
The state needs to increase and emphasize capital facility funding for new academic buildings for all six higher education campuses.
The last time the state funded a new building on the BSU main campus was FY 1995.
The state needs to reaffirm its historical commitment to fund the construction of new academic buildings for higher education.
Legislative Action:
BSU did not receive any funding this session to construct new buildings
However, the Governor recommended and the Legislature funded an additional $50 million in the statewide facilities maintenance budget. BSU share will be about $10 million, or four times the typical allocation.
The Legislature authorized the State Board of Education to allow BSU to proceed with the construction of new the Nursing/Student Health, Wellness & Counseling Center
BSU is hopeful of getting $15 million next session for the University’s highest building priority, the Center for Environmental Science and Economic Development (CESED) research building
Occupancy Costs for Academic Spaces in Non-State Funded Buildings
When higher ed institutions construct new academic spaces with non-state funds, it is important for the state to cover the operating costs of those facilities.
Occupancy Costs are based on a building’s square footage and include costs such as custodial, safety, security, utilities, information technology, and general building and grounds maintenance.
BSU has not received Occupancy Costs funding for the first academic building on our West Campus. That building has been in use for more than a year with the $370,000 in annual operating costs coming from BSU’s existing budget. Other programs and services have been cut or reduced as a result.
Legislative Action:
BSU received full occupancy costs funding for the new Interactive Learning Center which will come online for the 2007-08 academic year.
Delegated Authority for new construction and alterations & repair projects
BSU can save the state time and money by being allowed the same freedoms granted to the University of Idaho to undertake construction and renovation projects independent of the state’s Division of Public Works.
Currently BSU, ISU and LCSC must work with the Division of Public Works (DPW) on all capital projects over $150,000. With over 80 active projects, BSU has the most capital projects in the state. This project volume is stretching DPW beyond its capacity.
Delegated authority would allow BSU to choose to either manage our own capital projects in compliance with all existing rules and statutes or have DPW manage the projects.
Legislative Action:
BSU made progress towards this goal and expects to make even greater progress during the 2008 legislative session.
Factors supporting this change include:
Of the $168.2 million worth of BSU projects that DPW is currently managing, $164.6 million of those projects are non-state money and come from BSU debt financing, gifts, etc.
Governor Otter supports delegating more authority to Idaho state government’s line operations.
The capitol renovation and expansion project, which is the biggest single public works project in state history, will stretch the already heavily burdened DPW even further. Delegating more authority to BSU, DPW’s biggest customer, would be a sensible way to free up more of DPW resources for that important project.
State Priorities Also Important to Boise State University
Community Colleges
Southwest Idaho needs an affordable, accessible comprehensive community college to fill a void in the region’s educational system and promote economic development.
Legislative Action:
HB 283: Governor Otter recommended and the Legislature strongly supported a $5 million appropriation forany new community college property tax districts that are formed by vote of the electorate
HB 181 amended existing law to decrease the maximum allowable levy upon the taxable property within a community college district from sixteen-hundredths percent (0.0016) of market value for assessment purposes to one hundred twenty-five thousandths percent (0.00125).
HB 237 updated the current community college laws to make them consistent with the procedures followed in creating other taxing districts in the state.
The “Community College YES!” campaign was organized by Treasure Valley business, political and civic leaders to create a community college district comprised of Ada and Canyon counties.
On May 22, 2007 , more than the required two-thirds of the voters approved the ‘ College of Western Idaho ’ district.
Boise State University expects to play a vital and prominent role in establishing the new college including offering a portion of the BSU-West campus to be its home.
High School Redesign
Increasing math and science rigor in high school will result in graduates being better equipped for Idaho’s workforce and students better prepared to succeed at the college and university level.
Legislative Action:
The Legislature approved rules proposed by the Idaho State Board of Education to increase the graduation requirements for math and science for Idaho high school students.
The new requirements, which start with the graduating class of 2013 as ninth (9th) graders in 2009-2010, mandate that every graduating student in Idaho successfully pass three (3) years of math and three (3) years of science.
Provide ongoing funding for the Governor’s Science & Technology Advisory Council Legislative Priorities.
Specific items include Small Business Innovation Research grants, a program to strengthen early-stage science and tech companies (TechConnect), a statewide patenting and technology transfer office, an angel investment tax credit and a research matching grant program.
Legislative Action:
The Governor’s Science & Technology Advisory Council, through the Office of Science & Technology in the Department of Commerce & Labor requested nearly $50 million to develop and advance Idaho ’s tech sector.
The Governor recommended $15 million in one-time funding for the Higher Education Research Council (HERC).
JFAC and the Legislature ultimately appropriated $1.56 million in one-time funding in addition to the standard $1.44 million in the FY 2008 College & Universities HERC appropriation.
Other Legislation
HB 155 (Law) established the Nursing Workforce Advisory Council and the Nursing Workforce Center within the Department of Commerce and Labor. The Nursing Workforce Advisory Council will act as advisors to stakeholders on nursing workforce issues. The workforce Center will investigate nursing workforce issues.
HB 203aa High Need College Loan Forgiveness program would reimburse reasonable educational costs for individuals who choose to become educators in high need subject areas. The State Board of Education would determine which academic fields are considered to be "high need". Died in the House Education Committee.
HB 219 would clarify and strengthen requirements for obtaining residency in Idaho for the purpose of qualifying for resident fees at the state's institutions for higher education.
This bill was a result of an Office of Performance Evaluations study on higher education residency that was accepted by the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee.
The bill died in the Senate Education Committee with the expectation that the institutions would work over the interim to bring an improved bill to the 2008 Legislature.
HCR 21 rejected Idaho Child Care Program Rules that would have adversely affected low income college students with children by reducing their benefit eligibility from four years to two years
S1016aaH (Law) replaced the old "Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act" with an improved version to govern the management and investment of institutional funds.
