Enrollment cuts avoided by health affairs schools

Despite Monday’s announcement that the School of Nursing will cut enrollment by 25 percent for the upcoming year, University officials said Wednesday that similar enrollment cuts will not be made by other health affairs schools.

In fact, the trend throughout the health affairs programs is toward modest expansion, officials said.

Next fall, the School of Medicine will add 10 students, making its total matriculating enrollment 170.

The Eshelman School of Pharmacy will enroll 20 additional students in the next entering class.

And officials in the School of Dentistry said they do not have plans to cut enrollment.

But despite assurances that enrollment won’t be affected, some students are still worried.

“You see it happen to such an important school and it makes you wonder how many cuts you’ll see across the board,” said senior biology major Sheryl Payne, who received admission last week to the School of Pharmacy.

After the initial round of budget cuts last year, Payne said she had difficulty finding classes to fulfill her biology major.

Payne said that cutting course offerings affects the quality of education at UNC, which concerns her more than enrollment issues.

“If the degree doesn’t carry the same weight, enrollment doesn’t matter,” Payne said.

Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Bruce Carney said budget cuts did not target the School of Nursing, even though it is the only one to cut enrollment. The cut came at a time of increasing demand for nurses.

“Our office doesn’t tell them specifically how to adjust their programs, just to make cuts,” Carney said.

“Other schools may maintain their credit hours and course offerings, but they will be taking cuts in other ways that will also be painful.”

In response to the 5 percent budget cut called for by Chancellor Holden Thorp, the health affairs schools will make cuts of at least $6.5 million dollars next year. Thorp called for the 5 percent cut in preparation for the upcoming state budget cut, which is projected to be between 5 and 15 percent.

The School of Nursing absorbed $338,385 in one-time reductions this fiscal year along with state budget cuts. Next fiscal year, they will make at least an additional $483,407 in reductions.

The School of Medicine also made more than $2.8 million in budget cuts this fiscal year and will make more than $4 million in reductions next fiscal year if the minimum cut of 5 percent takes effect.

The School of Dentistry, which took a one-time cut of $272,815 this year, will make an additional $389,736 reduction for 2011-12.

David Etchison, director of communications at the School of Pharmacy, said it’s difficult to compare how budget cuts will effect programs across the board because the schools are structured differently.

Etchison added that the school is able to expand enrollment because of partnerships with satellite campuses that allow it to take students without overtaxing department resources.

Ultimately, the size of the cuts does not matter, Carney said. Any amount of reduction will affect both students and faculty.

“The bottom line is even a 5 percent cut is starting to inflict pain at every level,” he said.

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