USI biennial budget request includes funding for Downtown medical school

The spending proposal, presented to trustees Thursday, seeks bonding authorization of about $15.3 million for two capital projects, and nearly $3.5 million for general repair and rehabilitation in both years of the biennium.

Approved by the board, the proposal now goes to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and Indiana State Budget Agency.

In presenting the spending plan to the board, Cindy Brinker, USI’s vice president for government and university relations, advised it is “very early in the process.”

It also includes two line item appropriation requests: one for $535,566 for the operation of Historic New Harmony to support preservation, education and programs; and $320,450 for dual credit priority courses. Both requests are for each year in the biennium.

The money for the proposed capital projects includes $7.3 million for the multi-institutional academic health science/research center in Downtown Evansville. In collaboration with the city of Evansville, USI, Ivy Tech Community College, Indiana University School of Medicine-Evansville and the University of Evansville will plan, occupy and share funding for a two-building complex to house various health sciences programs operated by each of the schools. USI is requesting funding to construct 26,000 square feet in the facility to be dedicated to several health-related degree programs.

An additional $8 million is part of the budget request to fund renovations and expansion of the third floor of USI’s Health Professions Center where the IU School of Medicine is currently located.

Brinker explained to USI trustees that the operating budget was developed using performance funding metrics created by the state’s Commission for Higher Education: overall degree completion, at-risk degree completion, student persistence, on-time graduation rates, and an institution-defined metric tied to college affordability. The metrics have been around since about 2007, Brinker explained, but have only really been fully used to fund higher education budgets in the last two biennium.

“The key is how we respond to the way that those metrics were put together by the state of Indiana,” she said. “It’s a measure of how you do, how your institution improves from one three-year period to another three-year period. And there’s a whole schedule of how much you earn for whichever metric it is.”

For 2015-2017, the performance funding metrics generated funding of more than $3 million for USI.

However, the Commission for Higher Education recommends performance funding pools of 7 percent in 2015-2016, and 8 percent during 2016-2017. Budget request documents state the pool would be funded with institutions contributing 4-to-6 percent of their operating base to the pool with the anticipation new funding of 2-to-3 percent would come from the state.

As a result, officials said reallocation to the funding pool from USI’s operating budget would be nearly $2.5 million in each year of the biennium.

Despite increased performance on the proposed funding of the metrics, Brinker said USI’s base operating appropriation would remain relatively flat over the biennium. So it’s important, she said, to note that the university performed well on the metrics.

“Based on the metrics and based on our performance, we saw improvement in every single metric that we are eligible to participate in,” Brinker said. “And that’s important because everybody doesn’t show that level of improvement.”

The budget request is a “starting point,” according to Brinker, for when the state enters the legislative session.

Brinker said USI won’t know if the request for state funds is approved until the end of Indiana’s legislative budget session next April.