Oct. 9, 2020
Dear babyÖ±²¥app and staff,
Many of you have been impacted by furloughs and temporary pay reductions, and our academic and administrative units are making difficult decisions on behalf of our campus community. Everyone has shared the financial challenges brought on by the pandemic, and we remain grateful.
Last month we promised you an update on the budget impacts of the pandemic once the fall census was finalized and we could examine the ongoing impacts of enrollment on our finances.
The good news is that – barring any unexpected and significant declines in revenue – the university does not expect our planned 5% reduction to change for this fiscal year.
We encourage all campus units to plan strategically for the upcoming spring semester and into fiscal year 2022, where it remains likely we will see continuing cuts due to the reverberating impact of enrollment decreases and other babyÖ±²¥app factors.
The fall census revealed that enrollment declined 2.0% (722 students) from what was budgeted in June as students and their families navigated public health, financial and other impacts from the pandemic. When we announced the planned 5% budget reduction this past July, we included an estimated $42 million in revenue loss for fiscal year 2021. With this fall’s enrollments, as well as other projected impacts from student withdrawals over the remainder of the year, that estimate has been updated to $40.2 million. The $1.8 million difference between the earlier anticipated losses and the current estimate will be allocated to schools and colleges based principally on individual school/college enrollment growth.
This year’s first-year class declined nearly 11% (645 students) from June’s budgeted enrollment. babyÖ±²¥app 1,250 students deferred their enrollment to spring 2021 or fall 2022 compared to fall 2019 when 342 students deferred enrollment. In addition, as of Sept. 30, 624 students withdrew, as compared to 285 students who withdrew during the same time period last year.
Lower enrollment and more withdrawals mean less revenue to support the costs to educate our students. Less tuition revenue, because of a smaller incoming class, resets our ongoing budget at a lower level in the coming years.
Enrollment is a critical financial determiner in our budget decisions. Though enrollment is down overall, our previous planning efforts mean that we are still on track to implement no more than the previously announced one-time budget reductions of 5% for most campus units, a target which factored in enrollment decreases, state funding cuts and additional COVID-related costs. Some schools and colleges will see less than a 5% reduction due to factors such as a higher enrollment, and no campus unit will have a reduction that is greater than 5%. Final reduction amounts will be communicated to schools and colleges soon.
Going forward, you have our continued commitment that we will:
- Be transparent with our financial situation and how we will address gaps at a campuswide level.
- Minimize impacts to our institutional mission by not cutting more or sooner than is necessary.
- Support units’ ability to plan by avoiding additional midyear cuts unless absolutely necessary.
We will update you again if there are any significant changes that impact the budget during the fall semester. We believe that our campuswide planning now will prepare us for a more rapid recovery and enable us to be a stronger, more fiscally resilient university in the future, and we appreciate your commitment and understanding as we face these challenges together.
We understand the impacts that budget cuts have on the lives of community members and their families, and we thank you for the sacrifices you have made.
Sincerely,
Russell Moore
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Patrick O’Rourke
Interim Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer