Save St. Cloud State Campaign Launched Wednesday

(KNSI) – A new campaign started by faculty, students and community members is asking St. Cloud State University to rethink its decision to eliminate programs and staff due to budget shortfalls.

The group Save St. Cloud State is upset over the announcement to cut as many as 100 faculty jobs and 83 programs by 2028. 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 school had an ongoing structural deficit, and COVID-19 significantly impacted enrollment starting in the fall of 2020. According to the budget update from April and 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.

The current proposed plan shows there are 37 positions not in the budget for 2024, and they would be eliminated. The 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.

The school says the cuts are in line with the It’s Time strategic vision introduced in 2018 when the budgetary challenges came to light.

“St. Cloud State President Robbyn Wacker’s use of a demeaning slogan to announce layoffs that will negatively impact students, our colleagues, mentors, neighbors, and friends is dehumanizing and inappropriate,” said Dr. Mumbi Mwangi, professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at SCSU and president of the St. Cloud State Faculty Association, which represents faculty. “Unfortunately, this lack of sensitivity follows a pattern we have seen from the SCSU administration and throughout President Wacker’s career.”

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

A press release from the group alleges St. Cloud State’s plan for layoffs includes a seven-year partnership with an outside for-profit company – currently under federal legal review – that will provide the school with online programming to replace the faculty. As part of this $32 million agreement, SCSU committed 50 percent of its tuition dollars from the programs to pad the company’s profits.

The plan also proposes reducing the number of majors offered.

SCSU has 157 programs, but the school says 75% of undergrad students are enrolled in just 35 of them. At the graduate level, 24 of the school’s 80 grad programs account for 75% of enrolled students, which is leading to the school’s reexamination of its portfolio of offerings.

The move impacts about 90 students, according to officials who add it will not impact the quality of education they receive.

One of the programs is the grad certificate and Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy. The group contends that will lead to a direct contribution to the major shortfall of mental health providers, especially in more rural communities.

A statement from St. Cloud State University emailed to KNSI says,

“St. Cloud State University is moving forward with taking bold steps to innovate and deliver a high-quality education that is focused on the success of our students and meeting the workforce demands of our community. While our recent budget decisions are difficult, we are moving forward with a plan and the necessary action to respond to a budget deficit that needs to be addressed now and for the future. Our campus community is proud of our university and understands and supports this vitally important work.

Employees on our campus and our community partners, rather than those outside of our university who do not represent our campus voice, know that we have a plan that they have created and are implementing, that we must adapt to the changing higher education environment, that students have different expectations from the past and that we must meet evolving workforce needs. We appreciate the support from and on-going dialogue with our campus faculty, staff and students who are genuinely interested in working together to find solutions to save SCSU.”

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