The formula used to determine funding for universities in Ohio, which could affect the amount of state funds, is coming to Kent State.

While both the new and the old funding model took course completion, number of students enrolled and degree completion into consideration, more emphasis will be placed on the degree completion portion.

“Gov. Kasich is really emphasizing degree completion to bring more trained people into the work force,” said Gregg Floyd, Kent State vice president of finance and administration. “They’re changing the formula to put more of an emphasis on degree completion.”

The Ohio Board of Regents, headed by Chancellor Jim Petro, is the governing body for college education in Ohio and that made the final decision to change the model for state funding for universities.

This leaves state funding for Kent State a bit up in the air.

“We don’t know anything about how this could affect Kent State yet,” Floyd said. “Data is still being compiled, and students are still being added to the revised formula.”

The effects of this change in formula might not be immediate, either.

“The results of the formula won’t be available until sometime in 2013, and so we won’t see the effects of the change until 2014, most likely,” said Denise Zelko, Kent State associate vice president of university budget and financial analysis.

This will not greatly affect students due to the fact that tuition is in its own category of the state’s budget,” Floyd said.

Therefore, if Kent State does not do well in this new formula, this will not cause a rise in tuition.

“If we lose money — and I’m not saying that we will — we can offset the cost with higher enrollment,” Floyd said. “We have been doing well as far as enrollment is concerned.”

However, an increase in enrollment is not the only solution for Kent State if funding is cut.

“We can always cut back on expenditures if we don’t meet the ideal enrollment level,” Floyd said.

“We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”

Contact Katie Nix at [email protected].