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The Pain of Cuts: UNC system schools would eliminate jobs, trim classes
Journal Photo by Walt Unks
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Published: March 24, 2009
Updated: 03/24/2009 02:57 pm
Gov. Bev Perdue has proposed cutting the state appropriation by 6.5 percent, or $192 million, this year to the UNC system, a measure that would eliminate 1,600 jobs and reduce the courses available for students in the 16-campus system.
Perdue presented a state budget last week for $21 billion, and she proposed cutting spending by $1.3 billion in each of the next two years. Perdue and state legislators are struggling to fill a $3.4 billion budget shortfall next year.
Perdue has asked the UNC system to develop scenarios of how budget cuts of 3 percent, 5 percent and 7 percent would affect their schools in 2009-10, UNC President Erskine Bowles said in a March 11 memo to the UNC board of governors.
The cuts are based on the $2.72 billion state appropriation that the system received in the current fiscal year, said Joni Worthington, a spokeswoman for the UNC system.
UNC officials have asked Perdue that the budget cuts to the 16 universities not exceed 5 percent, Bowles said. In the current fiscal year, the schools reduced their budgets by $175 million. Campuses have limited travel, postponed buying equipment and left open vacant positions.
The budget cuts "will cause real, lasting pain if they are applied on a recurring basis," Bowles said in the memo. He wants the money restored to the campuses after the state recovers from the recession.
"North Carolina will emerge from this economic downturn, but none of us are sure when," he said.
A 7 percent cut at the 16 campuses would eliminate 1,600 jobs, of which nearly 1,000 are filled, Bowles said. The cutbacks would result in larger classes and lower student retention and graduation rates, he said.
John W. Davis III of Winston-Salem, a member of the board of governors, said he supports Bowles' position on the proposed cuts.
"I wish we didn't have to do it," Davis said yesterday. "It's not like anyone is picking on these schools."
Universities across the United States are cutting their budgets amid the national recession, Davis said.
During the fall semester of 2008, the UNC system had a student enrollment of 215,692 -- a 3 percent increase from the fall semester of 2007, Worthington said.
At a budget workshop last week, the board of governors saw examples of how a 7 percent budget cut would affect each campus, including Winston-Salem State University, UNC School of the Arts, Appalachian State University, UNC Greensboro and N.C. A&T State University.
Under a 7 percent cut, according to the presentation:
□ WSSU would lose nearly $5 million. WSSU received a state appropriation of $70.9 million for 2008-09.
The university would eliminate 60 positions, including five faculty jobs. The school's College of Arts and Sciences would reduce the number of courses taught by 90 sections, which would be about 2,250 seats. The university also might eliminate five academic programs.
□ UNC School of the Arts would lose $1.92 million. The school would eliminate eight positions, including two faculty positions.
Among its other cutbacks, the school would eliminate its summer program in Manteo and reduce classroom, library, maintenance, travel and supply spending by $374,000. The School of the Arts received $27.9 million in its state appropriation for 2008-09, according to Perdue's budget.
□ ASU would lose $9.7 million. The university would eliminate 93 positions, including 73 faculty positions and 204 courses in energy, sustainable development, health services, sciences and education.
ASU received a state appropriation of $137.96 million for 2008-09.
□ N.C. A&T State University would lose would lose $7.2 million. A&T would eliminate 66 positions, including 42 faculty positions.
A&T received $103 million in a state appropriation in 2008-09, Perdue's budget shows.
The university would "streamline" its courses, and its advisers would work with students to make sure they enrolled in the courses that might be offered only in the fall or spring semesters, said Akua Matherson, an assistant vice chancellor for budget and planning.
□ UNCG would lose $11.8 million. The university received $169.2 million in its state appropriation for 2008-09.
The school would cut 109 positions, including 59 faculty positions, and it would cut 275 course sections and nearly 7,500 classroom seats. The school would replace 60 percent of its freshman seminar classes with a large lecture series.
Despite being necessary, the cutbacks would erode the reputation of the UNC system, Bowles said.
"Our financial picture is very tough," he said.
Bowles told the Senate appropriations committee today that legislators should consider giving campuses the ability to furlough workers to save money. Perdue didn't propose furloughs to manage the state budget gap, saying they would hurt the state's reputation as it recruits business. Bowles disagrees.
The Senate will propose and pass its own budget plan before sending it to the House, which will create its own version.
■ John Hinton can be reached at 727-7299 or at jhinton@wsjournal.com.
Bracing for cuts
Gov. Bev Perdue's two-year budget proposes cutting state appropriations to the UNC system by 6.5 percent. The cuts to campuses would be based on their current budget appropriations:
School - 2008-09 appropriation - Fall 2008 enrollment
Appalachian State University - $137.9 million - 16,610
N.C. A&T State University - $103 million - 10,388
UNC School of the Arts - $27.9 million - 879
UNC Greensboro - $169.2 million - 19,976
Winston-Salem State University - $70.9 million - 6,442
UNC system - $2.7 billion - 215,692
Sources: UNC Office of the President, Governor's Office.
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