Budget proposal protects affordability, quality - Melissa Lee, High Plains Journal

University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds released a proposed 2017-18 operating budget May 30 he said protects the university system’s highest priorities of affordability and academic quality despite a reduction in state funding that will necessitate difficult decisions across the four-institution system. Bounds said the proposed budget shows prudence in a time of fiscal challenges for the state. Reductions approved by the Legislature and additional cuts from Gov. Pete Ricketts, coupled with the university system’s unavoidable rising costs, will create a recurring budget gap of $49 million by the end of the biennium. The university plans to manage the challenge by cutting up to $30 million from its operations and increasing tuition at a level that will maintain the university system’s position as one of the best values among its peers. http://www.hpj.com/general/budget-proposal-protects-affordability-quality/article_156cf073-36c2-5a3a-b768-4c1db201fd57.html