St. Cloud State Faces Deep Cuts to Programs, Faculty as Budget Woes Worsen

(KNSI) — Acting St. Cloud State University President Larry Lee announced Monday that the school is moving into the next phase of its five year plan following its ongoing budget issues.

Lee held a meeting with the Faculty Association explaining deep cuts to its programs and staffing to address an $18 million net operating loss in 2023, which lowered the institution’s year end cash balance from $28.7 million to $10.8 million. Lee revealed in a letter a grim projection. “When adjusting this year to account for a one-time allocation from the state of $9.75 million, our actual net operating loss would be $15 million for fiscal year 2024.” The letter warned the campus community, “It’s evident that with a $5 million projected cash balance, we cannot continue to lose $15 million a year, and adjustments to our operating structure are necessary.”

The school will lean into its “90 strongest academic programs,” where 90% of the current students participate. An analysis of SCSU’s enrollment in its 136 undergraduate and graduate degree programs shows that 75% of SCSU undergrad students are enrolled in 35 of its 88 programs, and 75% of grad students are enrolled in 25 of its 48 programs. This has led the school to reexamine its offerings to “better align with student demand and career path options.”

Degree programs on the chopping block include its criminal justice bachelor degree. Its master’s program already has suspended admissions. English education, English studies, music, sociology, child and family studies, and several education disciplines, including early childhood special ed, science education, education administration, physical education and social studies, could also be eliminated along with manufacturing engineering, manufacturing engineering technology, and economics.

There are 85 minor programs offered currently. Cuts recommend eliminating all but 35 that are subsets of majors to enhance efficiency and complement major programs while also being fiscally viable. Criminal justice, applied analytics, applied mathematics, applied behavior analysis, English studies, creative writing, STEM education, economics, several e-sports disciplines, and global and gender studies are on the proposed list for elimination.

Fifty-seven positions, or 13% of the total faculty on campus, will also be eliminated.

In 2019, the school underwent a retrenchment process, laying off eight tenured faculty members and eliminating programs. Last year, the school discovered that, compared to other schools in the Minnesota State system, instructional costs are much higher than tuition revenues, and proposed job cuts for the fiscal year 2024 to “build a budget on firm footing.”

KNSI News has reached out to Lee for comment.

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