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HCR029.........................................................by EDUCATION
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES - Stating findings of the Legislature and
directing the State Board of Education to undertake a comprehensive review
of the allocation formula for the General Fund lump sum appropriation to
the public institutions of higher education, to develop and apply a revised
and uniform methodology and to report on implementation of the formula.
02/16 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/19 Rpt prt - to Educ
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-sixth Legislature First Regular Session - 2001
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 29
BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
1 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
2 DIRECTING THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO UNDERTAKE A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF
3 THE ALLOCATION FORMULA FOR THE GENERAL FUND LUMP SUM APPROPRIATION TO THE
4 PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, TO DEVELOP AND APPLY A REVISED
5 AND UNIFORM METHODOLOGY AND TO REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FORMULA.
6 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
7 WHEREAS, the public institutions of higher education of the state of Idaho
8 have a well deserved and hard earned reputation for seeking excellence in
9 meeting the needs of their students; and
10 WHEREAS, fiscal concerns of the colleges and universities are before the
11 Legislature each year as the costs to students continue to climb and appropri-
12 ation requests escalate; and
13 WHEREAS, the current distribution of the General Fund lump sum appropria-
14 tion has evolved in a historical method in that each year's distribution
15 evolves from the base of the previous year; and
16 WHEREAS, it is incumbent upon the State Board of Education to assure the
17 inherent fairness and uniformity of the funding distribution to assure the
18 balanced and even-handed treatment of all of our excellent state institutions;
19 and
20 WHEREAS, in current practice, the State Board of Education has developed a
21 standard unit for evaluating enrollment totals among the various institutions
22 defined as a full-time equivalent (FTE); and
23 WHEREAS, to achieve equality, the basic unit of the "weighted credit hour"
24 which is the actual credit hours influenced by weighting factors determined by
25 course level and discipline, should be integral to the formula; and
26 WHEREAS, the shared goal of the Legislature, the State Board of Education
27 and the citizens of the state of Idaho is the maintenance and continued devel-
28 opment of a strong, vibrant system of higher education.
29 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the First Regular Session
30 of the Fifty-sixth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and the
31 Senate concurring therein, that the State Board of Education should undertake
32 a thorough review of the methodology used by the Board to distribute the
33 annual General Fund lump sum appropriation to institutions of higher educa-
34 tion. In the development of a revised formula, the board should focus primar-
35 ily on two factors: enrollment as calculated by full-time equivalents (FTE),
36 and weighted credit hours as defined in the current methodology. Upon develop-
37 ment of a uniform methodology, such methodology should be applied over a time
38 certain, not to exceed seven years, to the entire General Fund lump sum appro-
39 priation without the inherent inequities evolving from building from the base
40 of the previous year. In the development of a revised formula, the State Board
41 of Education should seek input from the broadest scope of the public, involv-
42 ing students, educators, policymakers and other stakeholders throughout the
43 state.
44 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that beginning December 1, 2002, and annually
2
1 thereafter until December 1, 2008, the State Board of Education shall issue a
2 report to the Legislature evaluating progress being made toward the implemen-
3 tation of the new General Fund lump sum allocation formula.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 11009
The purpose of this resolution is to encourage a change in the
way that the state funds institutions of higher education, so that
in the future the dollars will follow the students to the college
or university of their choice.
Each year the legislature appropriates a lump sum from the
general fund for higher education. The State Board of Education
distributes that appropriation to the various institutions of
higher education. This resolution directs the State Board of
Education to review the current distribution methodology and to
adopt a revised formula. The two basic elements of the revised
formula would be (1) student enrollment calculated as FTE's (full
time equivalents), and (2) actual credit hours influenced by
weighting factors (weighted credit hours).
Under the new formula the dollars would follow the students.
FISCAL IMPACT
The adoption of such a "Dollars Follow the Student" formula
would impact the general funds of the state in a neutral fashion.
The resolution affects the formula for distribution for higher
education, but does not increase or decrease that appropriation.
CONTACT
Name: Representative Kent Kunz
Representative Lee Gagner
Representative Julie Ellsworth
Representative Steven Hadley
Phone: 332-1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE BILL No