Ritesh Yadev & Madison Shumway
Staff Writer / Copy Editor
ISU President Kevin Satterlee gave the State of the University address at Frazier Hall on Jan. 30, addressing the university’s funding and the student body’s efforts to improve the university.
In his first year as president, Satterlee has encountered a budget problem: ISU currently spends more than it earns. His address framed that challenge as one with a crowdsourced solution.
“The real hard work, the real change has yet to come,” Satterlee said. “And the only way we are going to do it is together.”
Though Satterlee didn’t present hard numbers on ISU’s overspending, he admitted that the university’s near-$200 million budget exceeded revenue. During the address, Satterlee outlined three methods of increasing university revenue to make up the difference: attracting state funding, increasing enrollment and upping tuition and fees.
The bulk of ISU’s funding comes from the Idaho state general fund, which comprises 41 percent of ISU’s total funding. Student tuition and student fees make up another 18 percent and 12 percent, respectively.
To bring in more money from the state, Satterlee suggested the university propose additional projects like the Career Path Internship program and the Polytechnic Institute, for which Idaho legislators previously appropriated funds.
Though the option of raising the cost of attending ISU would increase revenue, Satterlee said, he reassured students that it was one he hoped to avoid.
“It is not a good practice, and it is a practice that I hope everyone in this room, and everyone who is watching, realizes is an unhealthy business model,” Satterlee said. “And one in the long run [that] is not good for our students. I hope that everyone at the university only looks at the concept of charging students money reluctantly, and as a necessary evil and to be avoided if possible.”
More palatable to students may be Satterlee’s solution of increasing enrollment and retainment over the coming years.
ISU enrollment has declined over the past eight years. During the 2009-2010 school year, 19,929 students were enrolled at the university, but that number dropped to 15,468 by 2017-2018.
ISU’s international enrollment has remained roughly the same over that same period, Satterlee highlighted, and enrollment in the Early College Program has tripled. But the number of traditional domestic students, who make up the bulk of ISU’s population, has fallen.
Tackling ISU’s budget and enrollment problems will take a community effort, Satterlee said.
“We have to have a plan, a plan that takes into account our mission, our goals and what we want to be as an institution going forward,” he said.
For Satterlee, that plan involves a new budget model and a number of recent initiatives aimed at improving university culture.
Over the past seven months, Satterlee has targeted employee engagement with a “One Thing” campaign, which sought out suggestions to improve the university from staff and faculty. He also spearheaded an academic success and retention task force and voiced a commitment to the newly-renamed Office of Equity and Inclusion.
His experiences speaking to ISU employees and students at regular “Coffee with Kevin” events have familiarized him with their perspectives, he said.
“I’ve heard about your challenges that you face on a daily basis, the things that impeded your ability to serve our mission,” he said. “More than that, I’ve heard about your commitment to this university. I’ve heard it come through in those conversations.”
