UOG Dealing With Budget Cuts

University Of Guam President Dealing With Budget Cuts, Shoots Down Tuition Surcharge
Written by Phillip Leon Guerrero,
Pacific News Center -
Guam, Saipan, CNMI, Asia-Pacific
Monday, 13 October 2008 07:20

Guam - The University of Guam continues to speak out on the effects of its budget cuts for this fiscal year. President Robert Underwood argues the University is a good investment.

“I don’t think people understand that for every dollar the government puts into [UOG] we get about $1.65 back. Because the faculty, the hard working faculty, administration and staff are able to turn that over, and get a lot of extra funding, whether it’s research grants, foundations,or federal funding,” he says.

The University will be giving out less financial aid, and fewer Yamashita Education Corps scholarships as a result of the under funding. Although UOG didn’t ask for any more money for operations compared to last fiscal year, the Legislature cut that aspect of the budget by over $2 million.

A number of ideas are being considered over how to deal with the shortfall, but a higher tuition, or an added surcharge isn’t one of them

“That’s probably not going to go through. I don’t think anyone is interested in that. I just don’t see how the students should bear the burden of the fact that [UOG] hasn’t been funded adequately,” Underwood says.