The money -- special financial requests that do not include basic state funding -- would go to incentive pay for teachers, facilities renovations, campus and program expansions and student success initiatives, among other items.

"It's not any institution's premise that all of its need and all the special things it could do will necessarily be funded," Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations Stanton Calvert said.

"Nonetheless, they take to heart the opportunity to spell out what their needs are and what they can offer the state if the state can afford to fund it."

The largest section of the wish list -- nearly $272 million -- appears to be made up of special item funding requests. The earmarks include $135 million for the A&M System's nine academic institutions, $31 million for the Health Science Center and another $93 million for its seven state agencies.

The remaining funds would go toward a new, systemwide initiative launched by Chancellor Mike McKinney that would financially reward the top three percent of teachers as determined solely by student evaluations.

System officials also are seeking $250 million in tuition revenue bonds dedicated to renovating facilities across the system.

Tuition revenue bonds must be issued by the Legislature and are separate from general appropriations. When lawmakers authorize bonds for such projects, they essentially are providing funding to pay off debt.

Of that $250 million, $95 million would be earmarked for facilities at the flagship campus in College Station, Calvert said.

During the last legislative session, Texas A&M University took home roughly $488 million in general revenue or formula funding, which is determined by student enrollment and covers basic core programs, Calvert said. That included an increase of about $51 million, or 11 percent, over the previous biennium.

For the upcoming session, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has recommended lawmakers split $1.2 billion between the state's 35 universities. If lawmakers were to pass the recommendation as is, it would translate into about $100 million in additional general revenue for A&M, Calvert said.

Administrators also are seeking an increase in the money -- determined by formula -- devoted to research and commercialization, Calvert said. If lawmakers approved the recommended $170 million for all 35 state universities, A&M would see a $40 million increase, which is double its current funding.

But Calvert acknowledged that the state probably can't afford to dedicate such a large amount to higher education. The more likely scenario, he said, will be that the state funds part of the total and tuition and fees make up the balance.

"The single-biggest need is to fund the enrollment growth for all the universities and the Health Science Center and cover the unavoidable increase in the cost of doing business that our universities and our service agencies face just the same as any business does," Calvert said.

Fighting for funding

Among the specific A&M programs vying for funding is a University Bound student success initiative designed to increase the number of college-ready high school graduates. The program would identify students in middle school and high school and help them get on a college track.

The university system is seeking $32 million -- $8 million of which is for Texas A&M University -- for the initiative.

The Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine is seeking $24 million for the second phase of its class-size expansion project. And $6 million each has been requested for developing universities in San Antonio and Central Texas.

The seven state agencies are seeking an additional $55 million -- separate from the $93 million in special-item funding -- in base funding to cover growth and the "cost of doing business," Calvert said.

Calvert also noted that $10 million had been requested for the redevelopment of A&M's campus in Kingsville and another $20 million to support new engineering programs that soon will be offered at four system universities.

"We know the Legislature cannot afford to fund all these things, but hope springs eternal," Calvert said.

Though not specific to the A&M System, officials also are pushing for $475 million for student financial aid, which would be available to needy students across the state, Calvert said.

'Re-regulation'

The concept of tuition "re-regulation" likely will be topical in light of the Legislature's focus on higher education during the upcoming session. Studies and blue-ribbon panels will be devoted to finding out how to make the state more competitive nationally and internationally, which essentially boils down to the need for a highly educated workforce, he said.

It is too early to say how the outcome of the session might affect higher education and its funding. Calvert said that will depend on what changes lawmakers implement and if the state has money to fund them.

Already, several bills have been proposed that would do away with tuition deregulation, Calvert said. One bill calls for a two-year moratorium on increases, while the other would prevent increases from being greater than the Consumer Price Index.

"The Legislature is generally unhappy with the rate of tuition increase since 2003 and, I might add, so are the universities," Calvert said. "We'd rather the tuition didn't have to go up nearly so much as it has."

But Calvert warned that lawmakers must remember the fundamental concept for funding higher education when reviewing the concept of tuition. Basic operational costs for education programs and student services are funded by just two interlocked sources: state appropriations and tuition and fees. Both must remain balanced and increase proportionally, he said.

"If the state increases its portion of the cost of student education and student support by enrollment growth and inflation, that will only take care of the share of basic costs that the state covers. Tuition and fees have to take care of their share," he said. "The real problem occurs if the state can't afford to keep up its share to cover growth and inflation, much less improvement. It shifts the burden to tuition and fees."

Finding a balance

Calvert said that is exactly what has happened since tuition was deregulated in 2003.

To regain in equilibrium, the state would need to increase funding from both sides of the equation. For example, he said, if a 5 percent cap is set on tuition increases, then the state must increase appropriations by the same percentage.

Such a funding mechanism would only keep up with inflation and wouldn't cover new programs or improvements, Calvert noted. But such items could be handled with special funding requests.

Both need to go up enough to cover growth and inflation, at the least, or universities would be forced to make cuts.

"The state of Texas has supported higher education extremely well, even during tough times. It's up to the universities and the rest of higher education to live up to the expectations the Legislature has for us," Calvert said.

"That's part of the underlying premise of all these studies. The state is investing a lot of money in higher education. How do we get better results? We're on the same side about that."

Another key issue facing the Legislature will be the production of bachelor's degree holders, Calvert said, explaining that Texas lags both the nation and leading states among Hispanic, black and first-generation students.

There likely will be incentive funding provided to universities -- regional universities are expected to be most affected -- whose graduation rates increase, Calvert said.

"You'll get a premium for producing an increase in first-generation students or in graduating students in high-demand fields such as engineering, IT, nursing and teachers," he said. "All of those, we're short in."

The special funding requested for the University Bound student success initiative is expected to target that problem by providing additional support for students who are historically less likely to graduate.

"Rather than every university fighting over a relatively small pool of college-ready, first-generation students, enlarge the pool," Calvert said, explaining the program would increase the number of students ready for college. "Then, we're going to get our share and other universities will, too. The state of Texas is the big winner."

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