Western Colorado University administrators are facing an unexpected budget discrepancy after discovering that the institution is about $1.4 million over budget in the fund supporting the bulk of its undergraduate programs. A period of staff shortages within the university’s finance department and difficulties implementing Workday, a new software system that helps organize finance and business operations, led to excess expenditures and revenue shortfalls. The imbalance is forcing administrators to adjust this year’s budget in real time. Although it is currently unclear how the university plans to absorb the shortfall, adjustments will not include staff salaries, layoffs or hiring freezes, Ian Higgins, Western’s chief financial officer told the Times.
