BANGOR, Maine — The University of Maine System says its 2013 budget under consideration includes no tuition increase for the first time in a quarter century.
The system’s trustees meeting Sunday and Monday in Bangor will review an operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Tuition and the mandatory unified fee for in-state undergraduate students will be kept at current levels.
System officials say they’re presenting a balanced budget to the trustees despite a $2.3 million decrease in the state appropriation.
Other items on the agenda include continuation of leases for two UMaine Cooperative Extension facilities in Tenants Harbor and Bryant Pond, naming a UMaine baseball batting pavilion and demolition of two structures at the University of Maine at Farmington.
Sounds as if Chancellor Page is headed in the right direction. Good for him. Now if we can consolidate some of these campuses and cut out some administrative positions and unprofitable and antiquated programs we can clean up this mess and bring this institution back to the old glory days when the University of Maine was well respected throughout the country.
It’s kind of you to volunteer to help the students displaced in your campus consolidation scenario with their increased travel expenses that way. Most people would just call for something like that without considering – … oh. Hm.
Good stuff, now on to a cohesive/practical long range operating and capital plan. Tough work.
This is in direct response to two articles in the BDN earlier this year. The first was the millions of dollars that were awarded in bonuses and raises to Personell, the second is in response to the article about Maine being #2 in the nation for student debt. Both articles proves that UMaine is nothing more than a BIG business corporation that cares very little about the students that pay the fees.
As a student myself, I’m naturally pleased at this news – except I can’t help thinking that there’s some potentially important information missing here. Namely: With costs never going anywhere but up and the state appropriation cut by more than $2 million, where’s the money coming from? Or, to be more realistic about it, what’s getting cut?
What’s getting cut???! Personnel and the possibility of ever receiving pay raises for all of us who did NOT get those lovely HUGE raises that were reported in the BDN earlier in the year .. SERIOUSLY???!!! Most of us here at the University of Maine have been working for at least 3 years with no contract and no pay raise. AT ALL. And the raise we got before that was so laughable, it’s not even worth talking about. We are NOT State employees, we are University of Maine employees .. we are the people behind the scenes who help to make sure that all of you students get a good education seamlessly and without bumps in your road (and when there IS a bump, we are there holding out a hand to help you over it)!! I understand the the students need a reprieve from additional costs, but do a little research and see things from our side, as well!
Whoa, whoa, easy. I’m on your side here. I’m not sure how you inferred from my question that I was somehow expressing support for employees getting the shaft… the intent was just the reverse, in fact. As in, “Sure, this sounds great, but who’s getting screwed to make it happen? ‘Cause the math pretty plainly indicates that somebody is. We ought to be considering that.”
I can definitely agree with you on the top heavy raises, rewarding the rich during a bad economy seems to be the American way of late. However, public high school staff around the state have had to deal with pay CUTS over the last three years. The recent questioning of the value of a college degree for the amount paid is long overdue. These two things alone make it difficult to sympathize with your lack of a pay raise.
It’s hard to pay for your student loans for degerees you will never use and work in fast food joints.
Thank you Governor LePage!!
This had little to do with the governor, and much to do with the University’s leadership.
As a graduate and current PhD student at UMaine, it’s good to see a year’s reprieve from the increased cost of completing my degree.
So true……
We will just wait for 2014