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The 2020-22 Biennial Recommendation of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) was approved October 31, 2019. The CPE budget recommendation included funding requests for all Kentucky higher education institutions for continuing operations and for strategic investments in statewide priority areas.

Kentucky State University (KSU) is currently engaged in a strategic planning process that will guide the transformation of the University. This process is closely aligned with the CPE’s current statewide strategic planning initiative. The University’s 2020-2022 Biennial Budget request is structured to address three primary needs that have emerged from both the internal strategic planning process and from intensive discussions with CPE:

Another significant issue addressed in the University’s budget request is full funding for the Land Grant Match for the University. KSU receives funds from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture to support agricultural research (Evans-Allen Research Program) and extension programs. These funds are specifically designated for 1890 Land Grant institutions and require that the federal award be matched by the state on a one to one basis.

KSU does not currently receive enough funding from the Commonwealth to support the match. While the Department of Agriculture can grant a waiver, there is no guarantee from year to year that they will.

The major components for Kentucky State University in the context of the overall request for postsecondary education in the Commonwealth are summarized in the following narrative:

Kentucky State University is an 1890 land grant institution. As such, it is eligible to receive federal grant funds appropriated by Congress each year to support land grant program activities and services. The federal funds must be matched dollar-for-dollar by the state, from non-federal sources, to ensure that KSU will continue to receive its full allotment of federal grant funds. Meeting the land grant funding matching requirement is an obligation of the state, not Kentucky State University. Other sources of federal funds and tuition and fee revenue cannot be used to meet the match.