Evangel University Faces Layoffs, Budget Cuts

Higher education in Springfield is hit again by hard times. Evangel University is laying off faculty and staff and cutting the budget to make up for more than a $1 million budget deficit. President Carol Taylor says they decided to tell those affected on Thursday, rather than wait. The cuts are do-in part to Evangel's consolidation with two other schools that created job redundancies. They also cut nearly three percent of the operating budget. Evangel University is eliminating twelve staff and 6 faculty positions and making other cuts. Evangel President-elect Dr. Carol Taylor explained there are several variables involved in the decision.

http://www.ozarksfirst.com/story/evangel-university-faces-layoffs-budget-cuts/d/story/r0cEVtJVeUi8J9i835WhAw

Audit report solidifies Cayuga Community College's struggle with current financial situation

Months of budget struggles and employee layoffs came together Wednesday night as cold, hard proof of the financial situation that Cayuga Community College is in this year. At its monthly meeting Wednesday night, the Board of Trustees was presented with the college's annual audit report for the fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, done by the Cuddy & Ward accounting firm in Auburn. The report laid out the specifics of CCC's recent budget struggles, which peaked in July when the board declared a state of fiscal exigency, and provided the trustees with the numerical facts of the situation they now face. Richard Ward, who presented the report on behalf of the firm, described CCC as having "significant cash flow problems" over the past year, evidenced by some of its bills not being paid as timely as in the past. The audit shows CCC's cash balance to be around $2.8 million, down about $331,000 from last year. In 2011, the school's cash balance was about $8.4 million, Ward said.

http://auburnpub.com/news/local/audit-report-solidifies-cayuga-community-college-s-struggle-with-current/article_2d0218e2-d6a3-5526-b19b-1c67cf18ad9c.html

College applications suffer under Philly school counselor cuts

Students and parents across Philadelphia are scrambling to meet Jan. 1 college application deadlines amid a budget crisis and deep cuts to the ranks of school counselors. Some Philadelphia high schools reached a counselor-to-student ratio of 1 to 3,000 this fall, according to Philly School Counselors United. That's much higher than the 1-to-250 ratio recommended by the American School Counselor Association. The School District of Philadelphia, following budget cuts made by Gov. Tom Corbett that aggravated a long-term fiscal crisis, opened this school year with 3,000 fewer staff members than last year.

http://www.citypaper.net/article.php?College-applications-suffer-under-Philly-school-counselor-cuts-18178

The Next Phase Of Online Education: 24/7 Digital Video Channels

Want a new skill? Now you can channel flip at any time of day, just like on TV. Walk into CreativeLive's airy San Francisco studios and you could be forgiven for thinking you're in just another snazzy software startup office. That is, until you open one of the closed doors and notice the cameras, producers, presenters, and live studio audience. Co-founded by photographer Chase Jarvis in 2010, CreativeLive offers free, live online workshops taught by experts. You won't learn how to code in CreativeLive classes (online education startups like Udacity and EdX can help with that), but you could learn about photography, design, the music business, e-mail marketing, and other hands-on topics. Think of it more as a replacement for enrichment classes at a community college than high-level classes at a university.
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3023392/the-next-phase-of-online-education-24-7-digital-video-channels

Next-generation MOOCs tackle budget-cuts at state universities

A new generation of online course providers is marrying the lofty goals of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) with a tangible benefit to students. MOOCs were originally created to spread access to education by putting lectures and course materials from top-notch professors on the Web. However, they do not address rising college costs. As budgets shrink on campuses, from New York to California, students are struggling to pay for classes and to get into them. To address this problem, Education Portal, an online education platform, has created the next generation MOOC: a new type of online course that allows students to learn independently and earn low-cost, transferable credit. By taking courses from a third-party, students bypass high costs at their schools while still transferring credits that apply toward their degrees.

http://northdallasgazette.com/2013/12/13/next-generation-moocs-tackle-budget-cuts-at-state-universities/

Governor Pence Cuts Budgets Due To Low State Revenues

The news came as a surprise to many state officials, including those at Indiana University who are being ordered to trim their budget by 2 percent. IU Associate Vice President Mark Land says that amounts to a $10 million cut. “The budget has been set which is one of the things that makes this really challenging and quite frankly a little bit disappointing, because we put together a budget that included the lowest tuition increase in more than 40 years based on the appropriation that was passed by the legislature.”http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/governor-pence-cuts-budgets-due-state-revenues-60025/

Lake Tahoe Community College eyes budget reductions - Griffin Rogers, Tahoe Daily Tribune

Lake Tahoe Community College is considering a number of budget reductions for the current fiscal year, as projected enrollment has dropped from 1,750 full-time equivalent students to 1,640. The college, which operates under a total budget of about $21 million, needs to cut about $500,000 to remain fiscally prudent, President Kindred Murillo said. Therefore, officials are projecting about 13 percent of classes being canceled as a result of low enrollment in the winter and spring sessions.

http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/9190051-113/college-murillo-budget-community

Due to budget restructuring, Temple cuts seven varsity sports - NCAA

Temple announced Friday that it will reduce the number of its intercollegiate athletic programs by seven, effective July 1, 2014. The action will mean a better and more sustainable experience for its remaining student-athletes and bring Temple into line with most other schools in the American Athletic Conference. Affected by the action are baseball, men’s crew, men's gymnastics, men's outdoor track & field and men's indoor track & field; as well as two women’s sports: softball and rowing. The action brings Temple's total from 24 to 17 varsity sports.

Slippery Rock President Norton expects more cuts next year - Rebecca Dietrich, the Rocket

Slippery Rock University President Cheryl J. Norton discussed the declining enrollment trend present at the university at the town meeting Thursday afternoon. Down 9 percent this year, Norton forecasts enrollment to be a major a challenge for the budget in years to come. “We are in a period of declining enrollment. We haven’t had as low of an enrollment at this institution since 2008 and that’s the challenge that we’re really dealing with,” Norton said. President Cheryl J. Norton broke the news to the public during the town hall meeting in the ballroom of the Robert M. Smith Student Center that the university should expect cuts present in the 2014-2015 fiscal budget. “I have to tell you in all honesty we know that to address this size gap, we will have reductions in workforce, we will have to cut operation budgets, but we also will try to increase revenue.”

http://www.theonlinerocket.com/news/2013/12/05/norton-expects-more-cuts-next-year/

Universities in Pennsylvania cutting programs and faculty: Higher Education Roundup - Karen Farkas, The Plain Dealer

As officials at Ohio’s public universities scrutinize their budgets in the wake of ongoing enrollment challenges and state funding issues, their counterparts in Pennsylvania are facing serious problems. In the last few years, the state’s 14-university system has shed 5 percent of its permanent workforce and discontinued or frozen new enrollment to 198 academic programs, according to Inside Higher Ed. But that wasn’t enough to shore up their budgets. Now, universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education are looking to end programs, lay off dozens of full-time faculty members, and cut ties with numerous adjuncts and more staffers.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/12/universities_in_pennsylvania_c.html

3 Ideas to Make College (Mostly) Free - SOPHIE QUINTON, the Atlantic

Oregon's legislature is kicking around concepts that would make higher education cheaper for the state's increasingly diverse student population. Oregon wants 80 percent of its adults to hold a college degree or postsecondary certificate by 2025. To meet that goal, lawmakers are focused on making college more affordable—whether that means increasing funding after years of budget cuts or rethinking tuition payments altogether. Currently, about a third of students in the Beaver State don't graduate from high school on time—or at all—and just 61 percent of graduates immediately head to college. A third of Oregon students are nonwhite, and half of students are low-income. State and local funding for higher education dropped by 32 percent between 2007 and 2012 even as enrollment jumped by 36.2 percent, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. Unsurprisingly, Oregon students are paying 18 percent more in tuition and fees than the national average, and students' debt loads are soaring. Here are three ideas kicking around the state Legislature that would make college free, or much cheaper, for Oregon's increasingly diverse student population.
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/12/3-ideas-to-make-college-mostly-free/281952/

Budget Cuts Cause Some Colleges to Cut Key Academic Programs - City Town Info

Slate reports that Minnesota State University Moorhead and the University of the District of Columbia may soon cut notable departments -- like English, physics and history -- in an effort to balance their budgets in the face of marginalized state funding. Columnist Rebecca Schuman, an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, suggested the trend indicates that higher education's business model is "backward," and that education, "the very raison d'être for a university" also seems the most disposable. Another point of contention for Schuman: the possible prioritization of professors' and administrators' salaries over students' educations. University President Edna Mora Szymanski suggested that years of declining enrollments have contributed to the problem, and that programs with the largest enrollment drops would be more vulnerable than popular ones.

http://www.citytowninfo.com/career-and-education-news/articles/budget-cuts-cause-some-colleges-to-cut-key-academic-programs-13120401

Colorado continues to face long-term budget challenges - CSU, the Coloradoan

“Colorado has one of the most complex state budgets in the nation, not by virtue of the dollar figures – other states are much bigger – but due to the many competing financial caps and spending requirements that have been added to the state constitution over the years,” said Charles Brown, director of the Colorado Futures Center at CSU. “For state lawmakers, meeting the long-term needs of Colorado citizens under this web of incongruent constitutional rules is a delicate balance that can easily be upset by outside factors or the unanticipated impacts of their own actions. The 2013 Colorado Sustainability Study demonstrates this tension very well, with an extended economic forecast that contains a better-than-expected outlook clouded by economic challenges of our own Legislature’s making.”

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20131204/CSU03/131204002/COLORADO-CONTINUES-FACE-LONG-TERM-BUDGET-CHALLENGES?nclick_check=1

University libraries costs increase - Josh Logue, Diamondback

The price of academic texts is on the rise, but students aren’t the only ones struggling to keep up: University libraries officials said the cost of academic journal subscriptions has left them in a financial tight spot. The library’s total collections budget, almost $12 million, has stayed essentially flat for a decade, while the cost of journal and database subscriptions has increased by about 6.5 percent a year, well above the average inflation rate of about 2.4 percent. Since 2011, a $100 student fee has helped cover some of the costs, but library spokesman Eric Bartheld said it is becoming clear that the fee is not a sustainable solution. The publishing world has undergone significant change in the past few decades. Formerly independent and cheap subscriptions are now managed by a handful of publishers, driving up costs. And libraries across the nation have fallen out of favor with the rise of the Internet, resulting in less government support

http://www.diamondbackonline.com/news/campus/article_aa592d7c-571b-11e3-8bf8-0019bb30f31a.html

Alberta circumpolar research the latest to face budget cuts - Edmonton Sun

The provincial government is giving back $50 million to post-secondary institutions dealing with enrolment pressures Alberta education workers call on government to stop the cuts. Circumpolar research has been hit hard by funding cuts the University of Alberta. The U of A’s grad student association is speaking out after the Canadian Circumpolar Institute was hit by cuts, and the Circumpolar/Boreal Alberta Research funding was eliminated entirely. In a letter, GSA President Brent Epperson states the reduced money will not only hurt graduate students and faculty, but it will break down connections to Arctic communities.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/11/23/alberta-circumpolar-research-the-latest-to-face-budget-cuts

University projects deficit because of tuition hike limit - Chris Thompson, Windsor Star

The University of Windsor is going to have to look at cost-cutting measures as it grapples with a projected $1.8 million budget shortfall this year. President Alan Wildeman delivered the news at Tuesday’s board of governors meeting in a mid-year-budget adjustment document, laying the blame for the shortfall squarely on new provincially mandated tuition hike caps of three per cent, down from five per cent. “It really does reflect the new funding reality in Ontario right now in large measure,” said Wildeman.

http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2013/11/26/u-of-w-projects-deficit-because-of-tuition-hike-limit/

Cash-strapped colleges gut academics instead of sports, admin or rock-climbing walls - Robby Soave, Daily Caller

Confronted with a $5 million budget deficit, Minnesota State University at Moorhead has decided to simply jettison some of its academic departments. History, English and physics are currently on the chopping block. The university’s administrative division, however, is not. The same thing is happening at the University of the District of Columbia, where the board recently considered eliminating 20 academic programs–contrary to the wishes of President James Lyons, who preferred to scrutinize the university’s sports budget budget. The NCAA Division II athletic program at UDC loses $3 million each year. For now, the university is leaving its athletic program intact — and killing off 17 academic programs.http://dailycaller.com/2013/11/27/cash-strapped-colleges-gut-academics-instead-of-sports-admin-or-rock-climbing-walls/

Ohio College Students Face Rising Debts - LEWIS WALLACE, NPR State Impact

College applications deadlines are approaching, and Ohio students are figuring out how to fund that education. Compared with several years ago, financial aid is down, and student debt is up. The total budget for need-based aid in the state of Ohio peaked in 2008 at $183 million, while the 2013 budget is just $86 million. Budget cuts in 2009 are responsible for a lot of that change. And while federal Pell Grant funding has increased dramatically, that growth has been outpaced by increases in tuition and living costs. http://stateimpact.npr.org/ohio/2013/11/27/ohio-college-students-face-rising-debts-2/

Making the Grade? Cuts at Burlington College Lead to Protests and Parodies - KEVIN J. KELLEY

Budget cuts have eliminated three department heads at financially challenged Burlington College and sparked protests by students who say they’re worried about the school’s viability and credibility. Anna Blackmer and Emily Schmidt, chairs of the humanities and fine arts programs, respectively, recently resigned after being offered contracts that would have made them half-time employees and terminated their health benefits. Film department head Gordon Glover was not offered a new contract, although he will be teaching courses as an adjunct instructor next semester. Mary Arbuckle, a professor in the film department, had her hours cut in half and her benefits terminated. http://www.7dvt.com/2013making-grade-cuts-burlington-college-lead-protests-and-parodies

Budget Cut Means Staffing Changes at Burlington College - Matt Austin, My Champlain Valley

Some students at Burlington College say they're concerned about staffing changes. The college says it needed to cut costs and that resulted in several long-time faculty members leaving. Students say they were caught off guard by the restructuring. They decided to dissolve student government and instead, formed a student union to fight back. "I just really think that the administration is not really acting in either the best interest of the students or its faculty members that have done such good, hard work for the school over the years," says Athena Pepe, Burlington College student. The college says the changes, which will save about $200,000 a year, were needed. They say all courses will still be offered and will be taught by experienced staff   http://www.mychamplainvalley.com/story/budget-cut-means-staffing-changes-at-burlington-co/d/story/8JkMeHrU50uf-bBH_5VLlQ

BGSU to cut 30 faculty posts - NOLAN ROSENKRANS AND VANESSA McCRAY, Toledo Blade

Bowling Green State University plans to not renew 30 full-time faculty members because of budget shortfalls. Provost Rodney Rogers, in a message to BGSU employees on Monday, said the move would save an estimated $1.4 million a year. Mr. Rogers said the cuts would come from the nearly 260 nontenure-track faculty members. The university’s faculty union plans to fight the job losses. “We are constantly trying to balance to ensure that we have strong academic programs but also ensuring that a Bowling Green degree is affordable,” Mr. Rogers said. The university announced last month the need for large budget cuts because of a deficit that’s projected at between $3 million and $10 million over the next several years. President Mary Ellen Mazey said at the time the shortfall will be covered with budget cuts, not tuition increases.

http://www.toledoblade.com/Education/2013/11/26/BGSU-to-cut-30-faculty-posts.html

Unless D․C․ finds alternative, N․C․ faces new budget cuts - RENEE SCHOOF, MCCLATCHY

When Congress returns tо Washington аfter Thanksgiving, budget negotiations will be gеttіng down to thе wire оn a deal fоr nехt year’s federal spending․ Without an agreement in December, North Carolina and thе nation could bе facing a second round оf the automatic spending cuts known as sequestration․ Thosе indiscriminate cuts have hаd ripple effects on thе state іn mаnу areas, including Head Start, highways, resеarch, meals for low-income seniors and the defense industry․ ․ A second year оf automatic cuts cоuld bе deeper thаn the fіrst because lаst year’s cuts began March 1, but thе second year’s cuts under thе 2011 Budget Control Аct wоuld be fоr а full year, sаid Alexandra Forter Sirota, director of the Budget аnd Tax Center in Raleigh․ Іt аlsо wоuld follow cuts bу thе stаte legislature․ “Тhе combined еffеct of federal and statе cuts is going to be devastating,” Sirota sаіd․

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/25/3779037/unless-dc-finds-alternative-nc.html

University of Saskatchewan's costs growing faster than revenue - Karin Yeske, CJME

The University of Saskatchewan's projected budget deficit is one-third smaller. The university has projected a deficit of $44.5 million by 2016. "Workforce adjustments up until the end of June have resulted in an estimated cost savings to the budget - and this is a permanent budget savings- over $10.4 million for the university," Greg Fowler, vice-president of finance and resources for the University of Saskatchewan. Fowler shared the news at a financial town hall meeting Tuesday. "This means we have closed one-third of our projected gap. Although this is good progress, we still have a lot of work to do," Fowler said.

http://cjme.com/story/university-saskatchewans-costs-growing-faster-revenue/151837