UNC system adapts to 'new norm' of budget cutting

The UNC system eliminated about 3,000 filled positions as a result of this year’s budget cuts, according to a report presented to the Board of Governors Thursday.

About 490 filled full-time university employees and about 2,500 filled part-time employees were cut as a result of the $414 million in budget cuts issued by the N.C. General Assembly

In order to cope with the 15.6 percent budget reduction, universities had to cut into vital resources including counseling services, course offerings and teaching positions.

“Despite the efforts we have taken to protect the academic core, students will be significantly impacted by the cuts,” said UNC-Greensboro Chancellor Linda Brady. “I think it will be very difficult for some of our students to graduate on time.”

UNC-G has had to eliminate 907 course sections due to budget cuts, Brady said.

To help students graduate within four years, Brady said the school has adopted several new policies to offset losses.

Many deans at the school have adopted a temporary substitution policy.

This policy allows students to replace an unavailable course that they need in order to graduate with another class, she said.

Students are also limited to 15 credit hours per semester.

“We found that most students would drop 3 or 6 hours after the first couple weeks of classes,” Brady said.

“We actually believe this will help with our graduation rates long term.

Other campuses across the state are familiar with UNC-G’s dwindling resources.

The 15.6 percent budget reduction, translates to a cut of $9 million for UNC-Pembroke, said Chancellor Kyle Carter.

The school had 6,944 freshmen enroll last fall. This year the freshmen class has been cut by 733, which leaves an anticipated tuition shortfall of about $2.5 million, Carter said.

The average dollar impact on each student at UNC-P was about $1,400 in reduction, he said.

Student retention is not the only worry of many administrators.

UNC

“We are losing an enormous talent pool,” Ortega said.

About 110 external offers were made to faculty members at UNC-CH during the 2010-2011 year. The previous year, 87 offers were made to faculty members, but the University was able to make 61 counter offers.

“I know of no state that has totally shut down faculty hiring,” Ortega said.

“This is a state that is more ripe for the picking than it has ever been.”

Many administrators said finding solutions to the harsh budget cuts and lack of resources call for innovative measures.

“The easiest thing we can do is raise tuition, but I think we need to take the blinders off and start looking at what other institutions are doing across the country,” said David Young, chairman of the budget and finance committee.

“Lets start thinking innovatively about how we fund our university and how we can help our students graduate.”

N.C. Central University Chancellor Charlie Nelms said every university would have to adapt to the cuts.

“When I spoke to our faculty and staff this fall, I got the term, ‘the new norm,’” he said.

“The way we used to do business, those things are gone.”

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