By Kristina Goetz
The Cincinnati Enquirer

With a construction project in the background, UC students go about their routines on campus Friday. (Jeff Swinger photo)

For students and staff at University of Cincinnati, the hits just keep coming.

Thursday's announcement by President Nancy Zimpher that UC would have to tighten its belt by $6.6 million before the end of the fiscal year was the latest in a five-year stream of bad budget news. State cuts to higher education, tuition increases and rising costs had students wondering just how much worse it might get and when - or if - there would be any sign of relief.

News across the Buckeye state has been sobering, not just at UC. Over a three-year period starting in 2001, higher education lost more than $300 million in state appropriations, said Jamie Abel, a spokesman for the Ohio Board of Regents.

"This amounts to a loss of state support of almost $1,000 per full-time equivalent student," he said. "The loss in state support has resulted in budget cuts on campuses, spending down of fund balances and tuition increases that unfortunately pass along a heavier burden to students and their families."

The message couldn't be any louder or clearer for students like Matthew Alafa, a 23-year-old sophomore from Toledo.

"I might have to get a part-time job," he said. "You have to worry about it. I don't have my parents paying for my school. It can be stressful. It's hard enough as it is with assignments and papers."

Since 1999-2000, tuition at UC has increased by 34 percent or from $4,998 to $7,623. Zimpher says she won't speculate about how high tuition rates might go next fall, but many students say they expect to pay the full 9.9 percent increase allowed by the legislature.

"I have a part-time job, and I get help from my parents," said Aaron Kincaid, a 20-year-old sophomore industrial design major from Silverton. "But I worry about paying more all the time. I'll pick up jobs on the side. It'll leave less time for school work, I guess."

UC officials have said they aren't sure yet where the reductions will be, though program cuts, tuition increases and staff layoffs are all on the table. The announcement brought a mixed reaction from adjuncts.

Georgia Court, an adjunct English and language arts professor, said she wasn't worried.

"I'm old enough that my family doesn't need the income, but I know many faculty who are really using this to make ends meet," she said.

But Maria Brackett, who's also an adjunct professor in English, said she hopes the university can find other solutions than laying off employees.

"It is very concerning, especially since there are more cuts scheduled for next year," she said. "I don't want to sound alarmist, but I think we need to talk about it."

Zimpher sent a letter to her cabinet Thursday giving guidelines for making the cuts. They will be reviewed by the newly established president's budget committee. She told school officials not to rely on across-the-board reductions, but rather to focus on how those decreases could impact quality.

Academic programs that have shown enrollment increases should be rewarded, she said, with lower average reductions in proportion to their success in admissions and retention. And, programs that have broad reputations or are important to the academic core should also be assigned lower reductions if possible.

"For the short term, we must rely on our creativity and our willingness to make hard choices," she said. "All of us must pitch in to tighten our belts and unleash our creativity to find new revenues."

Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Roderick Chu preferred to stay positive about Zimpher's approach to tough budget times rather than focus on the budget circumstances.

"In the short time since taking over at the University of Cincinnati, President Zimpher has developed an understanding of the complex and challenging issues facing the university," he said Friday. "I applaud her for engaging the university community in the collaborative and collegial manner that will be required to effectively respond to these important issues."