ECU announces distribution of budget cuts - Jackie Drake, Daily Reflector

The 16 percent cut to ECU was one of 17 cuts to all University of North Carolina institutions, ranging from 8 to 18 percent, set by the Board of Governors finance committee on Thursday to meet the $414 million reduction to the UNC system by the state budget. About half of the $49 million budget cut to East Carolina University will come from colleges and departments, officials announced Friday. With some variation, each college or department will have to cut about seven percent of its budget, Chancellor Steve Ballard announced at a news conference Friday morning. “There is no question that we'll have larger classes with fewer teachers,” Ballard said. “It may take students longer to get a degree. None of that is good.” One quarter of the remaining half of the overall cut to ECU will be made up by an already-approved tuition increase. The final quarter will come from “all other sources” including savings and not filling positions,