University of Maryland Office of the President
Introduction
Executive Summary
Highlights of the Year
Measuring Up
UM's Performance
Competitive Environment
Closing the Gap
How Do We Stack Up
Recruiting and Retaining
Economic Impact
Funding Comparison
Making It
Quality and Access
The Path Forward
Going the Distance
Appendix A
Testimony PDF

   The Path Forward

The pathway forward that will preserve access and affordability and simultaneously provide the quality needed to build the great university will be lighted by a partnership in funding of the State, the students and the university. With the peer average funding as the guide for the expected quality and performance, the partnership needs to distribute the responsibility for providing these funds in a responsible manner.

  • The University needs to assume responsibility for raising a substantial fraction of its budget through research grants, fund raising and its auxiliary enterprises. That amount needs to be consistent with the quality and standard of its peer group. The University stands ready to take on this challenge.

  • The students and their families will also have to support their education through tuition. To balance increasing tuition and keep access open for all qualified applicants, we must balance aid available. Overall, more scholarship support is needed.

  • The State will have to play a significant role if both access and quality are going to be sustained. For FY 05 the state general fund is expected to be 26% of the operating budget. (For FY 04, it is 27% or $306 million out of $1.13 billion, down from 34% in 1998.) Whether the State supports the students directly through financial aid or the University or both, a substantial infusion of resources is needed now to maintain the momentum of achievement that has been created.



Office of the President, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742