I’ve talked about this in the past.
The UI recognized their declining enrollment. To cover that up, the enrolled high school students and counted them in their enrollment numbers.
But that’s totally unsustainable. High school students don’t pay the same tuition.
Now the UI is paying for that sleight of hand trick.
A decline of nearly 2,000 traditional college students at the University of Idaho is forcing the administration to cut the budget. Provost John Wiencek informed the UI Faculty Senate of the spending reductions on Tuesday.
The report shows that traditional “degree-seeking” students at the UI has dropped by nearly 17% since 2011 causing a decline in tuition revenue of 15 million dollars. The Moscow Pullman Daily News reports that Wiencek told the senate that the budget crunch is despite total enrollment staying relatively flat. That’s because of an increase in dual enrollment Idaho high school students that are taking UI courses. Those students pay a nominal fee instead of full tuition. The number of non-degree seeking students at the UI has more than quadrupled over the past 8 years to around 2,000. Those students now account for about 17% of the UI’s total enrollment. This while traditional “degree-seeking” college students at the UI dropped from around 11,600 to less than 10,000 last year.
Over that time the UI spent 15.5 million dollars in reserves to balance the budget. The Daily News reports that Wiencek told the faculty senate that the institution can no longer cover the deficit with reserves.
Budget cuts for the 2020 fiscal year which begins July 1st will hit non-academics the hardest. The provost’s office will take the largest cut at over 31%. The College of Education, Health and Human Sciences will take the biggest cut among academic areas at over 8%. The College of Art and Architecture has the smallest academic budget cut at just over 2%.
The budget cuts come while the Idaho State Board of Education searches for a new UI President. Last Spring it was announced that this would be the last year that Chuck Staben would lead the institution. The board had stated that they wanted to hire a new president early this year, but finalists have yet to be announced. Staben’s contract ends on June 30th.
Meanwhile, Provost Wiencek has apparently been looking for a new job. He was a finalist for provost at Louisiana State University. Wiencek was passed over the for the job.
You can view Wiencek’s report to the UI Faculty Senate here Faculty Senate Update Budget Reductions Academic Affairs V4
Major decline in traditional college students attending the UI forcing budget cuts
A decline of nearly 2,000 traditional college students at the University of Idaho is forcing the administration to cut the budget. Provost John Wiencek informed the UI Faculty Senate of the spending reductions on Tuesday. The report shows that traditional “degree-seeking” students at the UI has dropped by nearly 17% since 2011 causing a decline in tuition revenue of 15 million dollars.