With recent news of a $5 million budget gap, more attention is being paid to the University's budget and how money is allocated.

Truman State functions under three primary operating budgets: the Education and General budget, Auxiliary Operations budget and the Restricted Funds, Budget Director Dave Rector said. 

State appropriations go into the E&G budget, and accounts for about 45 percent of the $89.7 million for fiscal year 2012. Student enrollment fees account for 52.7 percent and a miscellaneous fund for 2.3 percent. He said this miscellaneous fund comes from profit on vending machines, entry fees for sports games and investments. 

Rector said that with the $5 million budget cut, state appropriations would decrease to 39.6 percent. What that will mean for tuition, he said, still is unclear, but there will definitely be some sort of increase. 

During Mo. Governor Jay Nixon's State of the State address last Tuesday, he discussed wanting administrators to find alternative ways to fill their budget gaps, aside from tuition raises. At Truman, Rector said raising 

tuition is unavoidable to an extend. 

He said a factor affecting tuition increase is the consumer price index, which measures the price levels of goods and services in Missouri. It is a rule by the department of higher education and over-looked by the commissioner of higher education, Rector said, to not increase tuition by more than the CPI, which is 3 percent. 

"You can go above the 3 percent, but you have to get direct approval of the commissioner of higher education," Rector said. "Last year, the CPI was 3.3 percent, but we were able to raise it 4.7 percent, and that process is certainly not easy."

University President Troy Paino said the money in the E&G budget goes back to students for the most part, directly or indirectly. Instruction costs make up almost half of the budget's expenditures, he said, and other large chunks of the money go toward student aid (21 percent), student services such as the Career Center and Center for Student Involvement (9.6 percent) and academic support such as tutoring (5.8 percent). 

The Auxiliary Operations budget had about $23.7 million during fiscal year 2012, Rector said. He said this budget delegates money toward residence halls, the Student Union Building and the Student Recreation Center. 

Rector and Paino said some students have a misconception about how easy it is to transfer money from one budget to another.

"It's a standard in higher education that you have your auxiliary operations run separately, like a business," Rector said. "It wouldn't be fair if we used money that students pay to live in the residence halls for anything else, because then that student is essentially paying for part of the education of other students."

Paino said he's heard from students who think one solution to the budget crisis would be not to renovate Centennial Hall but use that money to fill the $5 million gap. 

"Unfortunately, this isn't a problem that we can fill with a one time budget infusion or with cost-cutting," Paino said. "The challenge that the University faces is that state support is going to continue to be a small percentage of our budget."

Paino said he hopes students understand that the administration is exploring every possible option.

"We're trying to do everything possible to where this gap won't affect student learning," he said. "That's our top priority."

Index Timeline

Budget history

• Nixon proposes 12 percent cut — Jan. 19, 2012
• University awaits news of cuts from governor — Jan. 12, 2012
• Budget cuts — Sept. 22, 2011
• Grad rates could affect state funding — Sept. 1, 2011
• Board of Governors approves budget, discusses financial outlook — June 30, 2011
• How do the costs add up? — Apr. 14, 2011
• In-state tuition to go up 4.7 percent, out-of-state 3.8 percent — Apr. 14, 2011
• Higher ed budget stands in House — Apr. 6, 2011
• Students lobby for low cut — Feb. 17, 2011