Kentucky higher‑education leaders ask lawmakers for more base funding, asset preservation and student supports as enrollments slip

Aaron Thompson, president of the Council on Postsecondary Education, told a Kentucky legislative committee that the state needs to increase base funding for public campuses and continue asset‑preservation investments to keep buildings and systems functional.

Thompson said Kentucky has made measurable gains toward its 60 by 30 attainment goal but warned that enrollment trends and affordability problems remain a threat to the state’s workforce pipeline and economy. “Post secondary education is the best return on investment you can get,” Thompson said.

Thompson and Travis Powell, senior vice president at the Council on Postsecondary Education, described several areas where the council plans to seek new or continued support from the legislature: higher base appropriations to stabilize campus operating budgets, continued additions to the performance‑funding pool, expanded asset preservation funding for deferred maintenance and modest general‑fund support for CPE programs such as futurity.org and the Student Success Collaborative.

The council provided data to the committee showing progress toward the state’s 60 by 30 goal: CPE reported Kentucky at 56.2 percent toward that target and said total credential production rose 6.4 percent in a single year. Thompson also reported declines in borrowing and average student debt: the share of postsecondary students borrowing fell from about 54 percent to about 40 percent, and average debt among Kentucky graduates is “20 something thousand dollars,” Thompson said, which he contrasted with national figures cited in public discussion.

CPE staff said performance funding has been a driver of campus policy changes and institutional aid that benefits low‑income students. Powell described the distribution model and recent adjustments that increased the weight given to student success and low‑income student outcomes within the performance‑funding formula.

Thompson and Powell also outlined programmatic items the council wants to keep or expand: the futurity.org student information site that shows career, cost and outcome data; bridge programming begun with HEERF funds to prepare underprepared students; and health‑workforce initiatives the council launched after a legislative appropriation and private partners’ contributions. Thompson said the council expects to return to the legislature with specific budget requests during the next session.

Public comment at the meeting reinforced the affordability concern. Michael Frazier, executive director of the Student Rights Coalition, told the committee his organization has helped 74 homeless students on campuses and warned of a continuing decline in enrollment among low‑income Kentuckians. “We have seen financial affordability explode at our college campuses,” Frazier said, and he urged the committee to consider holistic base funding rather than only year‑to‑year allocations.

Committee members praised CPE’s data transparency and programs. Representative McCool described the student‑right‑to‑know work as “real critical,” and one legislator told a personal story about how postsecondary credentials changed his family’s trajectory.

Thompson listed other figures the council uses to frame its requests: roughly $38,000,000 in mandated tuition waivers borne by campuses; an estimated $7,000,000,000 of remaining campus capital needs; and a health‑workforce partnership effort that began with a $10,000,000 legislative appropriation and drew substantial private partner investment. He said many of CPE’s initiatives were started with “soft dollars” and that modest recurring general‑fund support would allow the council to maintain tools such as futurity.org and the Student Success Collaborative.

No formal votes or committee actions were recorded on the topics covered in this portion of the meeting. CPE staff said they will provide follow‑up information and return with specific budget requests and details on proposed funding levels.