After months of financial wrangling, the University of Arizona faces a $52 million deficit—down from a $177 million estimated hole in January—said John Arnold, the UA's interim chief during a meeting with the Arizona Board of Regents. On the UA campus Thursday, Arnold presented a new budget forecast that included sharp cuts to administration, a moderate cut to the UA's Research Innovation and Impact, and continued consolidation of the IT and human resources departments. Arnold said the UA would continue working on the budget through June.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
University of St. Thomas to cut 26 staff positions, leave 30 open positions unfilled - Frederick Melo, Pioneer Press
The University of St. Thomas has informed employees it will lay off 26 staff members and keep 30 open positions unfilled, among more cost-cutting decisions to come, as it seeks to narrow a $10.5 million budget gap for the fiscal year beginning on July 1. No academic programs or faculty positions were among the announced cuts. University President Rob Vischer informed faculty and staff of the budget challenges in a letter this week and held a “budget town hall” on Friday at the O’Shaughnessy Education Center Auditorium in St. Paul. St. Thomas is Minnesota’s largest private university and one of the largest Catholic universities in the nation.
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Steps forward in strategic budgeting - Katie Popp, Royal Purple
Over the past eight months, UW-Whitewater and other universities within the Universities of Wisconsin have been working with Deloitte to look further into university financials. With the reports being publicized Apr. 11, Chancellor Corey King spoke about the report during the Faculty Senate meeting on Apr. 9. “Since last July, we have been engaged with the leadership of the campus, shared governance and others in this report providing information and having conversations,” said King. Our stance on the report as a university is we will treat the report as a tool. We have many tools on our campus that guide our conversations and our continual work and improvement.”
UW Campuses Face Challenging Financial Futures, Reports Show - Baylor Spears, Wisconsin Examiner
Several factors have led to campuses’ financial difficulties including declining state support on an inflation-adjusted basis over the last decade, the impacts of the decade-long tuition freeze that ended in 2022, declining enrollment and inflation. The UW system employed Deloitte as a third-party consultant to conduct financial assessments of the individual campuses. Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman said in a statement that the assessments are part of the work being done to help eliminate structural deficits throughout the system by 2028, and ensure the state’s campuses are financially viable and durable. However, he also said that additional investment from the state of Wisconsin is needed to ensure the system’s future success.
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
University faculty express concerns over spending freeze - JoMATTHEW TRUNFIO, University of Delaware Review
At the start of the spring semester, some faculty and staff members were surprised to learn that the university had implemented a spending freeze, placing an immediate hold on funding for hiring, travel and research. The sudden discontinuation of previously anticipated funding left many professors in a state of distress and confusion. While the spending freeze’s full effects on teaching are yet to be seen, Sarah Wasserman, an associate English professor, stated that the additional workload is already impacting the quality of education professors can offer.
https://udreview.com/university-faculty-express-concerns-over-spending-freeze/
The politics of shared governance and the higher education crisis - SASHA BREGER BUSH, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR, the Hill
Critically important democratic institutions across the country, ones you might not have known even existed, are under threat. As the higher education crisis deepens, university administrators and state legislatures are increasingly looking to undermine potential critics and eliminate challenges to their authority. A bill seeking to limit the power of shared governance organizations at public universities, including the University of Arizona’s faculty senate, is moving through the Arizona legislature. The bill went through the Arizona House of Representatives in late February, passed the Senate Education Committee with a 4-3 vote in late March and will likely pass the State Senate soon.
Monday, April 22, 2024
A congressman wanted to understand AI. So he went back to a college classroom to learn - David Klepper, AP
So when questions about regulating artificial intelligence emerged, the 73-year-old Beyer took what for him seemed like an obvious step, enrolling at George Mason University to get a master’s degree in machine learning. In an era when lawmakers and Supreme Court justices sometimes concede they don’t understand emerging technology, Beyer’s journey is an outlier, but it highlights a broader effort by members of Congress to educate themselves about artificial intelligence as they consider laws that would shape its development.
Texas lieutenant governor calls for increased oversight of tenure policies, faculty senates - Laura Spitalniak, Higher Ed Dive
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a powerful official who oversees the state’s Senate, is calling for lawmakers to increase oversight and scrutiny of colleges’ tenure policies and faculty governance groups. In preparation of the state’s next Senate session, Patrick released directives Thursday offering insight into his legislative priorities. He charged the Senate’s higher education committee with reporting on how the state’s public colleges are complying with SB 18, a law giving governing boards the sole power to grant tenure and codifying the post-tenure review process. The lieutenant governor further ordered lawmakers to recommend guidelines to oversee the role of faculty senates in higher education governance — something that has not traditionally been influenced by state lawmakers.
Sunday, April 21, 2024
Greater financial strains loom over Wisconsin’s public universities, review finds - Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed Dive
The Universities of Wisconsin system is facing major projected budget shortfalls in the coming years as financial reserves dwindle and retention rates fall. These are the main themes the system’s president, Jay Rothman, pointed to in recently released third-party reports on the state’s universities. The system’s trustees charged Rothman with eliminating structural shortfalls a year ago, with 10 of the system’s 13 universities running budget deficits at the time. Rothman’s office hired consulting firm Deloitte to analyze the finances of Wisconsin’s colleges.
College Hiring Dips, But Most Employers Will Maintain or Increase Hiring - Johnny Jackson, Diverse Education
While 17.4% of respondents plan to decrease hires, nearly 83% of employers anticipate increasing (24.9%) or maintaining (57.7%) hiring for the college Class of 2024, according to research conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Planned cuts mean overall hiring projections are down 5.8% from last year, NACE’s Job Outlook 2024 Spring Update survey found.
Saturday, April 20, 2024
Some rural states are cutting higher ed. One state is doing the opposite - Kelly Field, Hechinger Report
Now, spurred by concerns that low levels of college attainment are holding back the southeastern swath of the state, the Kentucky legislature is exploring ways to bring baccalaureate degrees to the region. The leading option calls for turning Hazard’s community and technical college into a standalone institution offering a handful of degrees in high-demand fields, like teaching and nursing. The move to expand education here comes as many states are cutting majors at rural colleges and merging rural institutions, blaming funding shortfalls and steadily dwindling enrollments.
Ohio’s Sinclair Community College to shutter 2 locations - Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed Dive
Sinclair Community College in Ohio plans to close two of its locations at the end of the spring semester, according to Catherine Peterson, the institution’s chief of public information. The college said its learning centers in Englewood and Huber Heights will shutter as enrollment declines and more students as more students look to online programs or dual enrollment programs in their high schools, Peterson said. Sinclair will continue to have locations in Dayton, Centerville, Mason and the Wright-Patt Air Force Base. Opened in the mid-aughts, the two locations collectively enrolled 5,500 students each year at their peak. But during the current semester, the locations hosted just one class between them.
Friday, April 19, 2024
Abbot Mark Cooper, O.S.B. shares perspective on college future: DEI work, LGBTQ+dialogue, Church outreach, budget cuts, core curriculum - Jordan Tavares, St. Anselm Crier
As the Hilltop goes through major changes such as budget cuts and potential curriculum change, personnel changes are also rocking the Anselmian community. However, none may be more impactful than the incoming of a new abbot following Abbot Mark Cooper’s resignation. As he approaches the age of 75, Abbot Mark is required to submit his resignation as abbot, to which position he was elected in 2012. In a roundtable discussion with Crier staff, he shared his perspective on key issues that will impact the future of Saint Anselm College. In recent years, there has been a greater emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. On the Hilltop, Abbot Mark wants to continue to develop this work, emphasizing that everyone is created in God’s image.
CT lawmakers look for more funding to address needs for next year - Mike Savino, NBC Connecticut
Various advocacy groups continue pushing for additional funding as lawmakers try to figure out how much extra money they have to spend next year. The legislature’s Appropriations Committee decided last Thursday not to revisit the current two-year, $51 billion budget. That means no changes in spending for the second fiscal year of the budget. Lawmakers are confident they’ll be able to address various needs in other ways, including unspent American Rescue Plan Act funding and surpluses within the budget. They’re just not sure how much money that is. “Well that’s one of the big unanswered questions, we don’t have a hard and fast number yet,” Sen. Martin Looney (D-President Pro Tempore) said.
Thursday, April 18, 2024
UC Berkeley’s new chancellor faces budget crisis, campus protests, housing shortage - Nanette Asimov, SF Chronicle
UC Berkeley, which faces a massive budget gap, is getting a new chancellor with economic chops. The University of California announced Wednesday that it has chosen Richard Lyons, its chief innovation officer and former dean of the Haas School of Business, as the 12th chancellor of UC Berkeley, following a six-month search. Lyons, 63, an economist who has been a professor of economics and finance at the Haas School since 1993, will take over the top job from Chancellor Carol Christ on July 1, UC President Michael Drake said at UCLA, where regents met in committees.
American University Board of Trustees announces reduced budget for fiscal year 2025 Budget reduced $34 million from previous year, following deficit - Penelope Jennings and Luna Jinks, the Eagle
American University’s budget for fiscal year 2025 will total $860 million, compared to $894 million this year, Board of Trustees Chair Gina Adams announced in an email Thursday afternoon. This comes after the University announced a $33 million budget deficit due primarily to lower enrollment numbers in August 2023. The University announced an additional $1.3 million deficit in January 2024. Fiscal year 2025 will begin on July 1, the same day that the University’s presidency turns over to Jonathan Alger.
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Full-time Faculty Raises Finally Beat Inflation … Just Barely - Ryan Quinn, Inside Higher Ed
With the dollar’s declining value taken into account, new data shows that real wages grew by half a percent. But pay remains well below pre-pandemic levels, and full-time women and part-timers continue to receive less than others. The survey shows that full-time faculty members’ average salary among the participating institutions has increased to $112,000. (With some exceptions, it includes data for nonmedical instructional faculty members.) In inflation-adjusted dollars, however, that’s still far below the $120,000 average in fall 2019, before the pandemic hit. And all categories of full-time faculty members, save for full professors (who now average over $155,000), make less than the average, so it’s not a good representation of faculty pay overall.
Degrees Earned Fall Again, Certificates Rise - Sara Weissman, Inside Higher Ed
Fewer people are earning degrees for the second year in a row, but certificates are having a moment, according to a new report. The latest “Undergraduate Degree Earners” report, released Thursday, showed that almost 100,000 fewer people earned bachelor’s and associate degrees or certificates during the 2022–23 academic year, a 2.8 percent decrease. The number of certificate earners, meanwhile, is higher than it’s been in a decade, the report found. Students who earned these kinds of credentials increased by about 4 percent.
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
St. Norbert College counters budget deficit with 12 academic programs Ashley Kaster, FOX 11
As part of its plan to fix its budget issues, St. Norbert College is offering 12 new academic programs. The new class offerings will help raise revenue as the college deals with a $9.2 million combined budget deficit for the '24 and '25 financial years. “These new initiatives not only expand the horizons of our students, reflecting our commitment to providing students with cutting-edge and relevant academic programs, but also align seamlessly with our mission to address the evolving needs of the local community. By providing diverse and innovative learning opportunities, we empower our students to become catalysts for positive change, contributing meaningfully to the growth and well-being of our community,” said St. Norbert College President Laurie Joyner. “This milestone reflects our dedication to shaping future leaders who are not only academically proficient but also deeply connected to the transformative impact they can make in the world.”
City College of San Francisco will face a ‘death spiral’ if its trustees don’t act soon - SF Chronicle
If City College were to lose its accreditation, the school would no longer be eligible for federal funding and students’ course credits would no longer be recognized by employers or four-year colleges. In other words, it would cease to be a school as we understand it. Unfortunately, City College is once again tempting fate due to poor decision making by its seven-member elected Board of Trustees. Despite the college’s bleak budget outlook, trustees unanimously passed a resolution to restore faculty positions cut in 2022 and recently voted to pay down the school’s retiree health liability more slowly than recommended.
Monday, April 15, 2024
Cleveland State prepares to offer buyouts to faculty, staff amid financial trouble - Amy Morona, Signal Cleveland
Cleveland State University is preparing to offer faculty and staff voluntary buyout packages to help close a projected $40 million budget gap. At a faculty senate meeting Wednesday, President Laura Bloomberg repeated that the university must “manage to our reality” – one that now, according to new projections, could see the university enrolling about 13,000 students by 2029. That’s a far cry from the total enrollment of 20,000 former President Harlan Sands pledged to hit by 2025 as part of the ambitious “CSU 2.0” plan. Last fall, the university enrolled about 14,175 total students, down about 13% from the nearly 16,330 students who took classes there in 2018. Fewer students, of course, mean fewer dollars coming in.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)