On Tuesday, January 31, Gov. DeWine gave his “State of the State” address, which outlined his budget priorities for Fiscal Years 2024-2025.

This is the first executive state budget in a dozen years that demonstrates a greater commitment to higher education and increased financial help for students.

Here are some of the highlights:

-A 9.5% increase to overall Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) funding in FY 2024 and an additional 9% increase in FY 2025

-3% increases to State Share of Instruction (SSI–the main funding stream from the state to public colleges and universities) in each fiscal year

-More than doubling current Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG–the major need-based grant for students attending four-year colleges) awards to $6,000 per student

-Creating the Ohio College Access Grant (OCAG–a new need-based grant for students attending community colleges and university regional campuses), which would have approximately $41 million in available awards across both fiscal years

-A 6.7% increase to OhioLink in FY 2024 and an additional 5% in FY 2025

–Ohio Supercomputer Center would get a 9.5% bump in the first fiscal year with an additional 5% in the next fiscal year

-Creating the Governor’s Merit Scholarship, which would provide $5,000 renewable scholarships for four years to students who graduate in the top 5% of their high school classes

You can find more complete details about the higher education components of the governor’s proposed budget here, starting on page 333.

The governor’s proposal is just the beginning of the state budget process. We can expect testimony from department and agency directors starting as early as next week in the Ohio House of Representatives. Closer to mid-February, we should see the formal introduction of the budget bill in the House, which also will contain policy language, such as, potentially, restraints on tuition and fee increases.

We will keep our members informed as the process unfolds. OCAAUP will testify at the appropriate committee hearings. While this is generally a positive proposed budget for higher education, SSI increases still fail to keep pace with inflation, and we need to ensure that our institutions have the resources necessary to attract and retain quality faculty to give students the best education possible.

The OCAAUP annual meeting took place during the last weekend of October. Attendees heard reports from state and national AAUP leadership, including government relations and pension updates, and approved the 2023 budget.

During our luncheon, journalist and author Will Bunch joined us virtually to discuss his new book, After the Ivory Tower Falls: How College Broke the American Dream and Blew Up Our Politics–And How to Fix It. Bunch gave insightful commentary about rising college costs, the political divide between those with and without bachelor’s degrees, among other topics.

In addition, Cynthia Peeples, one of the founders of the “Honesty for Ohio Education” coalition, delivered a presentation called, “Grassroots Organizing and the Fight for Honest Education in Ohio.” She discussed the various “educational gag order” bills in Ohio and how she has helped organize around these issues.

We appreciate all of our members who participated in person and virtually to hear about the important work of the Ohio Conference!

Election Day 2022 on a national level was not quite the “red wave” that was predicted for the Republican Party. However, in Ohio, the trend of becoming a solidly red state seemed to cement even more with the election results.

In a close, hotly contested U.S. Senate race, Republican candidate JD Vance emerged victorious over Congressman Tim Ryan. The balance of the Senate still remains in flux with some races yet to be determined.

In terms of Ohio U.S. House seats, Democrats made one gain with Greg Landsman unseating long-time Republican Congressman Steve Chabot in Southwest Ohio. Republicans seem poised to wrest the House from Democratic control, but final results are still outstanding.

If Republicans do gain control of one or both chambers of Congress, there is likely to be scrutiny of student debt relief, Title IX, and racial justice efforts. It also is likely that the non-renewed Higher Education Act will continue to go unrenewed for another two years.

As anticipated, Republicans swept all statewide offices, including governor, attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, as well as all three Ohio Supreme Court races.

Democrats lost one seat in the Ohio Senate, meaning for the next General Assembly, that body will have a split of 26 Republicans to just 7 Democrats, a supermajority.

In the Ohio House, Republicans appear to have picked up two additional seats, which will take their supermajority to 66 members over the Democrats’ 33 members for the next two years.

These state results mean that we are likely to see more of the same in terms of a lack of commitment to restoring higher education funding, possible attacks on faculty, and a piecemeal approach to solving higher education problems.

This is why it is so important that the Ohio Conference actively educates legislators about our issues and lobbies in the interests of faculty and quality higher education. It is also why our new affiliations with the OFT/AFT and AFL-CIO are so critical. We are going to need our allies more than ever to stave off potential attacks and help us make the case for higher education investment.