Lawmakers want more transparency on funds before relaxing process

By Anna Simon• Clemson bureau • 
January 17. 2011 2:00AM 

With state lawmakers who campaigned for smaller government now at work in Columbia, university leaders hope to see the streamlining of some of what they call cumbersome big-government rules.

That could save money for colleges and for South Carolina families who already struggle with rising tuition, educators say.

The issue centers on multi-layered approvals needed from three state agencies on construction, procurement and bond issues.

“It's hard to put a price tag on bureaucracy and time lost to multiple rounds of approvals, but I'm sure statewide it would be significant,” said Cathy Sams, a Clemson spokeswoman.

However, state Sen. Kevin Bryant, an education committee member who blocked legislation last year to give colleges and universities more flexibility from governmental oversight, wants greater accountability from the colleges first.

The cost of higher education is already out of reach for working class South Carolinians, said Bryant, who blocked last year's bill when he couldn't amend it to require the colleges and universities to post their spending online.

Bryant is one of a number of lawmakers who have pre-filed bills to require colleges and universities to post all spending on their websites so taxpayers can see where the money is going.

“I get phone calls from parents saying, instead of these big palaces being built all the time why can't we get affordable tuition,” Bryant said. “The higher education institutions are always broke and they are always building.”

Bryant wants online posting to become law before any rules on spending are relaxed.

State Sen. Larry Martin, a Pickens Republican on the education committee whose district includes Clemson University, said he is optimistic that legislation granting the schools more flexibility from government rules will pass this year because state universities have indicated that they are agreeable to posting their spending online.

Clemson University voluntarily began posting its expenditures this past week. The information will be updated on the university's website monthly, said Brett Dalton, chief financial officer at Clemson.


Gaining relief from unwieldy state regulations “continues to be a high priority for Clemson, and we're hopeful that that it will be passed by the General Assembly this year,” Sams said.

Projects such as Clemson's Academic Success Center, which is partially funded by state institution bonds, now need at least two approvals from the state Commission on Higher Education, two approvals from the state Joint Bond Review Committee and two approvals from the State Budget and Control Board, said Angie Leidinger, Clemson's director of governmental affairs.

A proposal would eliminate two steps of the facilities process by allowing the final state approval for projects to rest with the Commission on Higher Education and the Joint Bond Review Committee, Leidinger said.

Like all state agencies, public colleges and universities “are being challenged to do more with less state funding,” Sams said.

“This legislation will help us do that by streamlining some of the approval processes we now follow.”

University leaders say lower state funding forces them to raise tuition, and as the state continues to face shortfalls, the schools are looking for additional ways to cut their costs and contain the cost to their students.

South Carolina faces a projected $800 million shortfall, an amount about twice the size of the $425 million the state contributed to general fund budgets of its universities and colleges in the current budget year, according to state Commission on Higher Education data.

Lawmakers have slashed $333 million from college and university operating allocations in the past two years, according to commission data.

“Our colleges and universities have worked hard with legislators over the past few sessions to craft a strategy to improve efficiencies without reducing accountability,” said Garrison Walters, executive director of the commission.

“While we appreciate the difficult budgetary situation the state faces, our greatest fear would be that continued reductions in support for higher education would weaken the ability for the state's citizens to get the knowledge needed to compete in the global economy,” Walters said.

The commission “remains committed to working
along with our colleges and legislators to identify
opportunities to reduce costs while providing
quality services for South Carolina students
pursuing their educational goals,” Walters said