Closing a $20 million budget gap
Archived article from Sep 8, 2003
By Amy Vames
See also: Tuition increase
Although the state Legislature over the summer restored almost half of what the governor had proposed to cut from Rutgers' annual appropriation, the university still needs to close a budget gap of $20.2 million for the new fiscal year. Other factors, such as cost increases for fuel, utilities and student financial aid, have added to the budget shortfall.
In an effort to reduce the budget gap, the board of governors this summer approved a 9 percent tuition increase (see box on tuition). Then in a July message to faculty and staff, President Richard L. McCormick announced $7.5 million in permanent budget reductions that will be allocated throughout the university.
In his message, McCormick said that the budget cuts would be calculated "by assigning the smallest proportional cuts to instruction, higher proportional reductions to other core mission functions, and the largest percentage cuts to our administrative units." Thus, instruction will be cut by 0.85 percent; research, extension, the library and core student services by 1.98 percent; and administrative functions by 2.4 percent.
In addition, because the state budget includes no salary funding for higher education, any salary increases for the current fiscal year would only add to the magnitude of the budget reductions to be made. Accordingly, the university's current position with employee unions with whom it has discussed salary and with non-aligned employees is that there should not be any general salary increases for 2003-04.
"Despite the difficult budget times, it is important for the university to continue to make progress toward its highest academic priorities," added McCormick in his July message. To that end, the university's budget includes an allocation of $3 million to advance academic excellence. McCormick has asked the university's chief academic officers to propose ways that the fund be used to help the university meet its academic goals. The plan will be shared with the academic deans and directors at the start of the new academic year.
"I am confident that the array of actions that we are taking will protect our core functions, permit the university to continue to serve our students well, and maintain progress toward greater academic distinction," McCormick continued.
To help achieve these goals, changes in the university's internal budget reduction process have recently been introduced. This year, as administrators work to trim their budgets, individual units will have far greater flexibility in how money can be used. For instance, departments will be allowed to move funds between salary and non-salary needs and they can also hold on to money from vacant positions.
Holly Smith, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick and the Graduate School, says these two areas together will have to cut just under a million dollars. That means that some faculty positions left open by retirements will not be filled. The number of part-time lecturers and other temporary teaching staff will also be reduced, she said.
"That will mean the size of some class sections will go up slightly," Smith said. "In expository writing, for instance, class size will go up from 22 students to 24, although student assignments will remain the same." Some lab sections in math and science will also expand.
For upper-class students, there will be fewer courses offered. "Students completing their degrees will be able to do so but they will have less choice and flexibility," Smith added. Operating budgets for some departments in the FAS will also be cut, and some staff reductions will be taken through attrition, she noted.
News reports from Trenton claim that the state budget picture for fiscal year 2005 is not looking much better, partly because non-recurring revenue sources like the federal tobacco settlement monies will have been spent. As a result, budget advocacy will continue to be a priority for Rutgers in the coming months. The Department of University Relations will soon hire a director of advocacy programs, who will be responsible for organizing and training volunteers to assist Rutgers in communicating its goals to public policy leaders. McCormick has credited the university community's advocacy efforts with helping to restore funding from the state.
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