06/06/2023

Senate Budget Includes KSUCPM Funding

The Ohio Senate’s version of the state budget bill released June 6 includes $3.4 million each fiscal year in State Share of Instruction funding for Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine.

If adopted, KSUCPM estimates Ohio’s in-state graduates would earn their degrees with a nearly 30% decrease in student debt. The funding would also open new research opportunities for all KSUCPM students.

Ohio natives who attend KSUCPM are the only in-state students who do not receive SSI funding. This critical funding represents the taxpayer’s investment in higher education and the Senate's version of the budget would fix this disparity.  

KSUCPM is one of eleven podiatric medical schools in the country and over 80% of licensed Ohio podiatrists who live in Ohio graduated from KSUCPM (or its predecessor, Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine).

In addition to reducing tuition for in-state students, SSI funding would allow KSUCPM to:

• Develop, maintain, and upgrade patient simulation instruction and interprofessional educational opportunities
• Improve clinical student experiences through enhanced educational experiences
• Increase the number of dedicated, paid part-time adjunct clinical faculty and lower the student to faculty ratio
• Improve student experiences with virtual anatomy and hands-on training for podiatric procedures
• Upgrade the radiology teaching center to utilize the technology used in hospitals and other universities, including digital radiography with appropriate monitors and viewing stations
• Enhance research capabilities aimed at amputation reduction in Ohio’s growing diabetic population

The Senate is expected to pass its version of the budget next week, leaving two weeks for negotiations with the House and governor's office before the June 30 deadline to sign the two-year spending plan into law.