After years of expansion, college leaders took the University System of Georgia down a different path Wednesday by discussing campus consolidations and other steps to save money.
Chancellor Hank Huckaby said the system will review whether college mergers would be cost-effective and develop criteria to determine potential candidates among the 35 campuses.
It's too soon to say how many campuses would be impacted or how much money it would save, but this represents a shift in priorities for a system that opened a new school -- Georgia Gwinnett College -- in 2006.
Huckaby also announced a systemwide study of how colleges use existing buildings to determine if, and where, new construction may be needed. He also called for the system office to collaborate more with colleges and architects on construction proposals and designs. Both steps address concerns about growing construction costs, he said.
These initiatives come as the system has grappled with cuts in state funding, and with students paying 9 percent more in tuition and fees this year.
Lawmakers said the steps recognize the state's economic reality and demonstrate a revitalized University System and board.
"Chancellor Huckaby is taking an institutional leviathan and changing course to correct many cost issues developed over years," said Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, who heads the committee that oversees college budgets. "I think he and this Board of Regents are responding to financial realities and public interest in exactly the appropriate way to safeguard our children's higher education and to be fiscally responsible with limited government resources."
The system must ensure that it has the "appropriate number of campuses around the state," said Huckaby, a former state legislator who started as chancellor in July.
He told campuses "not to panic" and said there is no list of possible merger candidates.
"I know this will be somewhat controversial to many," he said. "But if we're going to do what has to be done we must be willing to take on tough issues. I didn't agree to become chancellor to maintain the status quo."
Previous talk of campus mergers caused political uproar. A state senator suggested three years ago that the system merge Armstrong Atlantic State and Savannah State, both in Savannah, and Albany State and Darton College, both in Albany, to save money. The idea was shot down by local politicians, alumni and supporters of historically black colleges, which include Savannah State and Albany State.
But the Technical College System of Georgia has merged campuses, going from 33 colleges to 25 and saving about $7.5 million a year.
A spokesman for Gov. Nathan Deal described the University System's focus as a "win-win for taxpayers and students" and said the governor looks forward to the studies' results.
The support from Ehrhart and other lawmakers also represents a change for the University System. There's often tension between the two groups, because while legislators approve how much state money the University System receives, it is the regents who decide how the money is spent. The relationship became contentious in recent years as lawmakers looked for ways to cut spending and argued colleges were unwilling to do their part.
Ehrhart said he was "thrilled" to see campus mergers being discussed and pledged to help the system consolidate.
"It takes real guts and true visionaries to take on this type of issue," he said. "They should turn a deaf ear to the turf battles and political cries from those who defend the status quo at the detriment of state taxpayers."
Georgia State University student Clara Green said the system needs more deliberations over high-cost projects, but questioned what campus consolidations would entail.
"Consolidation means nothing if it's not for the benefit of the students," said Green a member of the student activist group Georgia Students for Public Higher Education. "If costs are cut, we want to see tuition and fees cut, too."
Regent Bob Hatcher echoed some of those same concerns, saying the weak economy has forced the system to take a better look at how it spends money. The regents supported Huckaby's ideas announced Wednesday.
"We need to put more dollars into the classroom instead of buildings," Hatcher said.
On Tuesday the regents approved the system's 2013 fiscal year budget request of $1.85 billion, plus an additional $298.3 million for construction, repairs, renovations and other facility needs. The system owns more than 3,100 buildings worth more than $10.5 billion.
Huckaby said the system will study how buildings are being used to make sure colleges are taking full advantage of existing space before embarking on new projects. The first stop for new proposals will be with academic affairs to evaluate how the project would help students learn, he said.
The system has no intention of micromanaging legitimate projects and needs, Huckaby said.
"We're looking for people to get more enterprising," Huckaby said. "Our current reality demands that we not only adjust to changing times -- but to lead them through."
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