Texas lawmakers convened the 79th legislative session in Austin Jan. 11, and while public school finance, property taxes, child-protective services and children's health insurance all require significant attention, UNT is working to ensure higher education is not overlooked.

During this session, UNT administrators are seeking to secure full funding from the state's higher education formula, according to Jack Morton, senior vice chancellor for governmental relations.

In the 2003 session, legislators reduced the formula rates regulating higher education funding and lifted the state-mandated cap on tuition to allow institutions to make up some or all of the lost funds. Because UNT enrollment grew by 10 percent between 2001 and 2003, university funding amounts stayed relatively flat despite the reduction in the formulas. However, that meant UNT was teaching and serving 3,000 additional students without additional state funding to support them.

"Full formula funding would alleviate the burden on tuition increases and provide the university with money to cover the cost of growth," says President Norval Pohl. "The formulas, more than any other funding mechanism, follow the students and equitably provide funding to the institutions where the students are being taught."

UNT is also seeking $94 million in tuition revenue bonds to fund new construction and renovation of existing facilities. With a 687,707-square-foot space deficit, UNT has a 25 percent space shortage, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. This is the second-largest space deficit of any Texas university.

Pohl says approximately $50 million would be used to build a new 200,000-square-foot Business Administration Building. The current building was constructed in 1960, and since then the number of faculty in the college has grown from 36 to 107, while the number of students majoring in business has increased from 1,850 to 5,710.

The remaining $44 million would help address renovations to basic infrastructure — plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling, and exhaust systems — for buildings across campus.