St. Cloud State University Proposes Reducing Staff and Majors Offered Amid Ongoing Budget Woes

Originally published April 21st, 2023 10:01 a.m.

Updated April 21st, 2023 3:21 p.m.

(KNSI) — St. Cloud State University says due to its ongoing budget deficit, it will reduce staff and proposed reducing the number of majors offered.

The University shared its budget update this week, which includes plans for “conducting careful analysis, identifying reductions and providing a high-quality experience for students, all aligned with the It’s Time strategic vision introduced in 2018 when SCSU leaders anticipated these unprecedented challenges.”

In a press release, the school says it is not alone in financial challenges, as other schools face similar issues. The school had an ongoing structural deficit, and COVID-19 significantly impacted enrollment starting in the fall of 2020. According to the budget update obtained by KNSI, the 22% reduction in staff since 2013 has not kept up with the 38% decline in enrollment in the same time period.

SCSU’s current budget deficit “has several underlying factors, including significant demographic decline in the number of graduating high school seniors over the past decade, increased operations expenses caused by inflation, high instructional costs to deliver programs, decreases in state funding and depleted federal funds.”

The school says it lost $20.7 million for fiscal years 2020-2023, with a projected budget deficit for fiscal years 2022-2023 of $18.3 million.

The press release says it also discovered, comparatively to other schools in the Minnesota State system, instructional costs are much higher than tuition revenues, and they have proposed job cuts for fiscal year 2024 to “build a budget on firm footing” explains Larry Lee, who is SCSU’s Vice President for Finance and Administration.

According to the budget update and confirmed by sources at SCSU, the current proposed plan shows there are 37 positions not in the budget for 2024, and they would be eliminated. The update shows total suggested personnel reductions through 2028 are 108. That includes Board Early Separation Incentives, retirements, layoffs and vacancies. In positions where BESIs are accepted, BESIs will have limited opportunity for replacement. Most positions will not be replaced. The school is offering 123 voluntary BESIs and has room in the budget to accept 81.

In 2019, the school underwent a retrenchment process, laying off eight tenured faculty members and eliminating programs.

By developing a multi-year plan, it will “reposition the university for a bright future,” says Lee.

The plan involves reductions in degrees, majors/minors, concentrations and certificates with low enrollment. “While this process is often difficult, there is compelling data indicating that a review, trim and refresh would help focus what is now a very broad menu of programs across an array of disciplines and fields,” according to the release.

SCSU has 157 programs, yet just 35 enroll a sizeable 75% of undergrad students. At the graduate level, 24 of the school’s 80 grad programs account for 75% of enrolled students, leading to a reexamination of its portfolio of offerings.

Students currently enrolled in the disciplines proposed for elimination will be allowed to continue, but for those on the chopping block, new students will not be admitted. The move impacts about 90 students, according to officials who add it will not impact the quality of education they receive.

Here is the list of programs:

Majors

Philosophy, BA
Philosophy Interdisciplinary, BA
Real Estate, BS
Theatre and Social Change, BA
Insurance, BS
Nuclear Medicine Technology

Master’s

Marriage & Family Therapy, MS

Grad Certificates

Marriage & Family Therapy

MinorsBritish Studies
Ethics
Ethics Interdisciplinary
Philosophy
Philosophy Interdisciplinary
Religious Studies
Theatre

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