MNSCU UNIVERSITIES BRACE FOR BUDGET CUTS
by Connie Howard, IFO General Counsel
As the current budget crisis has unfolded over the past six months, the Inter Faculty Organization (IFO) represented faculty who have been bracing for the worst as university administrations have begun planning to deal with unprecedented budget cuts. Early settlement of the IFO’s 2009 – 2011 contract with Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) and the prospect of millions of dollars of temporary federal stimulus money have improved prospects. However, all of the MnSCU universities are scrambling to take steps to cut costs to deal with anticipated budget short falls.
So far only the administration at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSU Moorhead) has announced that it anticipates retrenching probationary and tenured faculty. To encourage voluntary separations to reduce the need for lay offs, MSU Moorhead has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the IFO extending the deadline for applying for unreduced Early Separation Incentive (ESI) and Early Notice of Retirement (ENR) benefits. The Faculty Associations at Bemidji State University (BSU) and Winona State University (WSU) are negotiating with their universities to offer similar incentives.
Minnesota State University Moorhead - Moorhead has been hit by the triple blows of declining enrollments, state budget crisis and devastating flooding. According to MSU Moorhead FA President Cindy Phillips, the university is facing up to a $9.2 million decline in revenue for the 2009 – 2010 fiscal year. Of that figure, $4.2 million is a structural deficit resulting from the university’s failure to revise staffing levels as enrollments have declined. In addition, MSU Moorhead faces a $4 to $5 million shortfall as a result of the state budget crisis.
MSU Moorhead President Edna Szymanski first announced that the university was contemplating retrenchment – defined by the IFO/MnSCU contract as lay offs of probationary or tenured faculty – at the first university meet and confer in 2009. Since that announcement, the university has been evaluating and implementing a variety of cost cutting steps.
The administration has frozen searches on 11 vacant faculty positions and has made non-faculty staffing cuts. As noted above, the IFO and the university negotiated an MOA to encourage voluntary separations by extending the deadlines for faculty to apply for ESI and ENR benefits. The deadline for faculty to give notice of their intent to take advantage of the incentives is April 30, 2009. The number of faculty who choose to leave to get the benefits offered by the MOA will impact how many faculty will be retrenched.
Dr. Phillips says she anticipates that final decisions regarding faculty lay offs at MSU Moorhead will be announced at a meet and confer scheduled for May 7, 2009. Meanwhile, President Szymanski has asked deans to prepare recommendations for 5%, 10% and 15% budget cut scenarios. In addition, faculty have been working jointly with the administration to prioritize academic programs. Input from faculty and other interested parties will be evaluated by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the University Budget Committee. However, the President will make the final decisions regarding budget cuts. St. Cloud State UniversitySt.
Cloud State University (SCSU) is bracing for a revenue shortfall of between $5 and $11 million for the 2009 – 2010 fiscal year. In preparation for a worst case scenario, President Earl Potter has asked each of his vice presidents to identify budget cuts equal to 7.5% ($11 million) of their budgets. However, President Potter has suggested that actual cuts are more likely to total between $5 and $6 million. The university does not plan to reduce its budget for adjunct faculty or for extra duty days. A number of cost cutting steps are being implemented that will affect faculty directly, including:
Freezing searches to fill 74 of 125 faculty positions currently vacant. Only 51 out of 125 requested searches are proceeding -- 35 for probationary and 16 for fixed term positions.
Eliminating 33 FTE of non-contractual reassigned time assignments. Faculty who lose reassigned time for other purposes will be assigned to teach additional classes to help backfill the 74 vacant positions, leaving over 40 positions unfilled.
Covering some of the over 40 vacant faculty positions by increasing average class sizes.
According to SCSU Faculty Association President John Palmer, the overwhelming majority of the budget reductions on the SCSU campus will be borne by faculty. Dr. Palmer says he anticipates “no retrenchment or ESI, just more work for the same pay.”
Minnesota State University MankatoAs of mid-March, Minnesota State University Mankato (MSU Mankato) was projecting a worst case budget deficit for the next biennium of $8.83 million. According to MSU Mankato Faculty Association President Don Larsson, all colleges have been asked to plan for budget cuts of up to 10%, but have been told that when cuts are made they will be targeted rather than made across-the-board.
Twenty-two (22) staff layoffs have been announced and a number of staff vacancies are going unfilled. MSU Mankato President Richard Davenport has announced significant administrative reorganizations. The Division of Student Affairs is being eliminated, along with the positions of Vice President for Student Affairs and two Assistant VP positions, among others. Faculty, students and staff have put forward about a dozen reorganization models for consideration. Dr. Larsson will be on a leadership group that will consider these models and make a recommendation by the summer. The Dean of Extended Learning has stepped down, and oversight of that office—which includes extended campus, the new satellite campus at 7700 France Avenue in Edina, and components of online learning—will be the responsibility of the Vice President for Strategic Partnerships Bob Hoffman. Several staff positions in the College of Extended Learning are among the recent cuts.
Following the settlement of the IFO/MnSCU collective bargaining agreement, President Davenport retracted plans to cut $900,000 earmarked to fund graduate assistants. However, Dr. Larsson reports that adjunct and fixed term vacancies are being cut in many departments and many probationary vacancies are being left unfilled or are being staffed temporarily through fixed term searches. No programs have been slated for program closures, but the FA anticipates that next year we will see some announcements department reorganizations and/or program cuts.
Winona State University - WSU anticipates a $4.2 million shortfall over the next academic year. According to WSU Faculty Association President Bruce Svingen, the administration has announced that it does not anticipate laying off any probationary or tenured faculty. However, WSU does intend to save between $770,000 and $1 million during the 2009 – 2010 year by eliminating some faculty and staff positions and leaving others vacant temporarily. WSU cost cutting plans include:
Eliminating one (1) faculty position in the Education Department.
Leaving vacant one (1) faculty position in Foreign Languages.
Cutting 10.6 FTE of non-contractual reassigned time.
Limiting the number of sections of multi-section courses to maximize the seat count per section.
WSU is exploring the possibility of entering into an MOA to extend the deadline for applying for ESI and ENR benefits for faculty in designated departments.
Dr. Svingen reports that after an initial attempt to persuade WSU faculty to take voluntary furloughs, the administration has backed off that idea. Instead, faculty are being encouraged to contribute to a voluntary fund. However, Dr. Svingen noted, the university has offered no guarantee that any money contributed will be used to save jobs, only that it will go towards deficit reduction.
Southwest Minnesota State University According to Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) Faculty Association President Jan Loft, thus far the administration on her campus has avoided uttering the “R” word (Retrenchment). However, the administration has proposed drastic steps to address the projected $2.6 million deficit for the 2009 – 2010 year. Those measures affecting faculty directly include:
Leaving vacant two (2) new faculty positions that had been approved, but whose funding was eliminated by the 2008 – 2009 unallotment.
Not renewing four (4) fixed term/adjunct positions.
Not renewing three (3) assistant coach positions.
Significantly reducing non-contractual reassigned time and extra duty days, in most cases by 50%.
In addition, the administration plans to make significant cuts involving staff outside the IFO bargaining unit, including not filling 21 staff vacancies, 21 lay-offs or position eliminations, and 2 reductions in position time. Dr. Lofts says, “Our administration is to the point where they say they are truly sorry. They hate this too, but no one has come up with a way to reduce the budget without hurting people.” More information will be forthcoming after a meeting scheduled the afternoon of April 15.
Bemidji State University (BSU) anticipates $2 million deficits in each of the next two years. BSU President Jon Quistgaard has told faculty that he anticipates $1 million of the shortfall for the 2009 – 2010 year will come from the budget administered by the BSU Vice President for Academic Affairs. Most IFO faculty salaries are paid from that budget. According to BSU Faculty Association President Christopher Brown, the administration has been decidedly short on details as to how the budget cuts will be accomplished. Mr. Brown reports that BSU has postponed making budget decisions for next year in hopes that federal stimulus funds will be available to offset the worst of the budget crisis.
Mr. Brown says that so far the administration has frozen searches for seven (7) probationary positions. In addition, faculty have been told to expect that non-contractual reassigned time will be cut, except for reassigned time dedicated to four (4) key areas (i.e. Higher Learning Commission accrediting efforts, Liberal Education curriculum, the Center for Professional Development and Assessment) In addition, the BSU FA is negotiating with the administration to extend the deadline for faculty to apply for unreduced ESI and ENR benefits to encourage voluntary departures.
Metropolitan State University’s (MSU) budget reserves and expanding enrollment have insulated faculty at the university from the worst of the financial woes plaguing the other MnSCU universities. Continued enrollment growth and a possible small tuition increase will be part of budget planning for 2010 that is still in process with an all university budget meeting scheduled for April 21.
