UCA stands to see an increase of $8.7 million in appropriated funds from the Arkansas Legislature, an 18.2 percent increase from last year and the largest increase among Arkansas four-year colleges, if Gov. Mike Beebe’s budget is accepted.

Under the proposed budget, UCA’s total appropriation for the 2007-2008 school year would be $56,923,383, compared to $48,170,875 from last year.

President Lu Hardin said: “UCA, because of it’s extraordinary growth, will receive a substantial amount of new money. This $8.7 million coupled with $13 million from the bond issue will make this the best financial legislative session in the history of UCA.”

The University of Arkansas and University of Arkansas at Fort Smith would receive the next largest sums under the proposed budget, with an 8.6 percent, or $9,537,623 and $1,816,126 increase, respectively.

Hardin said the new money, a windfall from an overall higher education budget increase of 10 percent by Beebe, was distributed between all Arkansas colleges because of cooperation between all university presidents and chancellors.

“The other presidents and I were in fairly intense negations, and, to all of the [other]presidents and chancellors’ credit, we were able to work very closely together to resolve the distribution of the money,” Hardin said. “Now, it is up to us to make sure we protect this $8.7 million and it is not changed during the session.”

Under the proposed budget, however, UCA would not fare as well in other areas compared with the other Arkansas four-year colleges. The budget includes estimates of how much funding each college needs, but full funding is not always available. UCA would receive the lowest percentage of total projected funding need – 76 percent, or $56,923,383 of the $74,672,501 suggested by the funding model.

Arkansas State would receive 88 percent ($59,418,904) of their estimated funding needs, and the University of Arkansas and Pine Bluff would be funded 100 percent ($23,043,204).

Executive Assistant to the President Barbara Anderson said: “If everything was ideal, we’d all be at 100 percent of calculated need. But every session we’re trying to get closer and closer. It was just politically incomprehensible I guess for all new money to go to one institution.”

The total new money appropriated for each of Arkansas’ four-year colleges is: Arkansas State University, $4 million (7.2 percent increase); Arkansas Tech University, $2,343,326 (8.3 percent increase); Henderson State, $1,070,000 (5.6 percent increase); Southern Arkansas University Magnolia, $1,010,000 (6.5 percent increase); University of Arkansas, $9,537,623 (8.6 percent increase); University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, $1,816,126 (8.6 percent increase); University of Arkansas at Little Rock, $4,718,367 (8.4 percent increase); University of Arkansas at Monticello, $750,000 (5.7 percent increase); and University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, $800,000 (3.6 percent increase).