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A new fiscal year began with a wave of cuts at nearly 10 institutions.
Photo illustration by Justin Morrison/Inside Higher Ed | tarras79 and ivstiv/iStock/Getty Images
As temperatures across the nation soared in July, many universities were feeling the heat from financial pressure prompting waves of layoffs and program cuts to ease steep fiscal challenges.
Last month, just over a handful of universities announced sweeping cuts, citing a mix of familiar factors: rising operating costs, declining enrollment and the problematic rollout of an overhauled Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which has been delayed by various issues. FAFSA woes have added more pressure to institutions already struggling with serious demographic drop-offs.
Here’s a look at the latest round of campus cutbacks.
University of New Orleans
Grappling with a $15 million budget deficit and declining enrollment, the University of New Orleans plans to eliminate dozens of positions and decommission a building, Nola.com reported.
In all, more than 70 positions will be eliminated, though many of those are reportedly unfilled. UNO also plans to close a building that houses several academic departments, including the anthropology, sociology and political science offices, but has costly maintenance issues.
The university is also reducing its athletics budget by 25 percent.
Administrators are enacting belt-tightening measures after an enrollment collapse over the last 20 years. Nola.com reported that UNO’s head count peaked at 17,360 students in 2003 but slipped to 6,601 last year, an enrollment decline of nearly 11,000 students across two decades.
Some senior leaders, including President Kathy Johnson, are reportedly taking pay cuts.
Western Illinois University
Three dozen faculty members were laid off at Western Illinois University last month as the public institution navigates serious financial concerns, according to Tri States Public Radio.
In all, 36 faculty members did not have their contracts renewed, according to a statement from administrators that cited a need to achieve “fiscal stability” as the reason behind the cuts. The radio station reported that in June, WIU board chair Carin Stutz had said the university had exhausted its financial reserves. WIU has also delayed its presidential search due to its finances.
Local media reported that the university needs to trim its budget by $22 million and has managed to hit $13.4 million of that target already, but more personnel cuts are expected.
Rider University
Rider University cut 31 positions last week, a spokesperson confirmed to Inside Higher Ed.
Of those 31 positions, none were faculty jobs, and 17 were vacant. Of the 14 active employees who lost their positions, three were offered other positions at the university, according to a spokesperson who noted that the reduction in force will save Rider a little more than $2 million.
The private university in New Jersey noted that FAFSA challenges factored into the decision.
“These are difficult decisions to make, and are only done after thoughtful consideration of other ways in which to reduce cost to help align the University’s revenue with expenses. Over the last several years, Rider has made significant progress toward its goal of achieving a break-even budget, and then a surplus budget, but the challenges of the past year, especially related to the FAFSA challenges and enrollment implications, have necessitated the need to further reduce costs and plan for additional revenue enhancements,” university officials wrote in a statement.
Valparaiso University
Facing financial challenges, Valparaiso University announced plans to cut 30 academic programs and an unspecified number of faculty positions, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Cuts come as the university, a private institution in Indiana, struggles with declining enrollment and a recent budget deficit.
The university is doing away with a mix of undergraduate majors and minors and graduate programs that were targeted for low enrollment. Majors to be cut include philosophy, global studies and German language, the university announced.
The university reportedly cut 14 positions last month when it temporarily shuttered the Brauer Museum of Art and dismissed its director as part of a restructuring effort driven by finances. Last year the university announced plans to sell artwork from the museum’s collection to fund capital projects, such as residence hall renovations, which officials said was necessary due to a budget deficit then projected at $9 million. That effort has since been challenged in court. Valparaiso intends to move forward with the art sale provided it can overcome legal challenges to the plan.
Queens University of Charlotte
Queens University of Charlotte is making unspecified job and budget cuts after missing undergraduate enrollment targets by around 100 students, The Charlotte Observer reported.
The university blamed the “turbulent” launch of the new FAFSA, which has created headaches for students and families, who have struggled with the form. Institutions have also noted serious challenges in recruiting amid lower FAFSA completion rates.
“The turbulent roll-out of the new Federal Application for Student Aid [sic] by the Department of Education wreaked havoc for students pursuing higher education and for the institutions serving them,” university officials wrote in an email. “This caused many students to delay their decision about where to attend college, or to pursue other paths altogether.”
While the private university in North Carolina did not detail the dollar amount or the number of jobs it would seek to trim, its cost-cutting measures include reducing staff, leaving currently vacant positions open and restricting travel, the newspaper reported.
Bethel University
Bethel University, a private Christian institution in Tennessee, announced that it has laid off “several employees” and closed a handful of programs in an effort to balance its budget.
Though the university did not specify the number of employees, a news release noted there was a “reduction in faculty and staff positions,” with unfilled positions being prioritized. Other changes at Bethel University include the elimination of swimming, bowling and in-line skating programs.
“My arrival comes at a difficult time for higher education,” new Bethel president Perry Moulds, who assumed office on July 1, wrote in the announcement. “Collectively, we are facing a multitude of challenging circumstances including declining enrollments, the impending ‘demographic cliff,’ and declining public confidence in the value of a college degree. It is imperative that institutions manage their financial health responsibility in order to provide the best educational and developmental opportunities for the students and communities we serve.”
Lakeland Community College
Lakeland Community College is laying off 17 employees amid a $3 million budget deficit and a state audit that raised concerns about its financial trajectory, Ideastream Public Media reported.
The cuts are expected to save Lakeland, a public institution in Ohio, around $1.5 million.
Recent layoffs come after Lakeland cut 25 jobs last December and another 29 employees took buyouts as state authorities have urged the college to take steps to improve its financial position.
Wittenberg University
Wittenberg University is weighing faculty and staff layoffs in an effort to trim millions of dollars to cut projected deficits in the current and upcoming fiscal years, the Springfield News-Sun reported.
While the private university in Ohio did not specify the number of employees likely to be axed, the newspaper reported that Wittenberg aims to eliminate $3 million in personnel costs for the current fiscal year and another $4 million for fiscal year 2026 and beyond. Wittenberg’s Board of Trustees will reportedly take up the plan to trim $7 million in costs at its meeting later this month. (Some employees are concerned that up to 60 percent of the faculty could be laid off, according to local news reports.)
“As we strive to become a more affordable institution, we will also need to decrease certain expenses and eliminate faculty and staff lines over the course of the next two years to safeguard our future and better prepare students for the demographic, technological, and economic realities of today’s world,” Wittenberg University officials wrote in a statement to the newspaper.
