— KREBS — Oklahoma higher education Chancellor Glen D. Johnson presented the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education’s legislative agenda for fiscal year 2013 to an audience of lawmakers, community leaders, and educators, according to a media release.

Southeastern Oklahoma State University President Larry Minks was the host of the Southeastern Regional Higher Education Legislative Briefing and Luncheon. Other schools that participated were Carl Albert State College, Connors State College, East Central University, Eastern Oklahoma State College, Murray State College and Seminole State College.

The Regents voted recently to request a 3.7 percent appropriation increase for FY13.

“Oklahoma’s system of higher education continues to cut costs and tighten its belt while enrollment is at record levels and the number of college degrees earned increases each year,” Johnson said.

“There is no better investment for our state than higher education. After three years of budget cuts, we continue to provide a top-quality educational product to our students at a very affordable cost as we produce an educated workforce to meet the demands of our global marketplace.”

The state’s public higher education institutions are requesting $27.8 million in operating funds to address ongoing obligations, such as increases in health insurance premiums and retirement costs.

Library expenses, instructional materials, information technology replacements and scholarships are also expected to increase.

The Regents will also seek increased financial aid funding in the coming legislative session. They want an additional $1.6 million for the concurrent enrollment program, which allows high school juniors and seniors to take credit-earning college courses.

The Regents will seek $98,729 for the Office of Accountability, which administers  the Oklahoma Educational Indicators Program and the Oklahoma School Performance Review Program.

The Regents will also propose a series of bond issues over the next five years to eliminate the $271 million backlog in the Endowed Chairs Program. Since the inception of the program in 1988, the state has matched 772 total accounts at 21 institutions.

The total request for FY13 is $980 million, a $34.7 million increase.