Enrollment drop will leave $1.8M shortfall

Richard Roberts, chief budget officer for the University of Arizona, said the budget was planned for an enrollment decrease about half as large as the actual drop.

In a Nov. 12 memo to academic deans, directors and vice presidents, Provost Paul Sypherd urged departments to defer hiring new faculty and staff, curtail state funded travel and consider other cost-saving measures.

Roberts said that when fall-semester enrollment dropped by nearly 800 students, the university fell $1.8 million short of its expected income from tuition.

"Of that amount, the deans have been asked to hold up on $1.6 million in expenditures," Roberts said. He said the provost will manage the other $200,000 in cuts.

"We've got to stabilize the enrollment of this organization," Roberts said.

The November memo also mentioned a reduction of about 50 full-time faculty members.

Roberts said that statement is not as bad as it sounds.

He said 220 to 260 faculty positions are open at any given time and 50 of those positions may be returned to the state and removed from the university's budget.

Roberts said there is a debt service of $1.7 million for the planned Integrated Instructional Facility in the budget. He said shelving the IIF plan would be one way of making up the budget shortfall.

"All other things being equal, it would seem more prudent to avoid debt service rather than avoid the program delivery of the institution," Roberts said. "Some would argue the building is important to undergrads."

Joel Valdez, senior vice president for business affairs, said it is hard to speculate what will be done until the state finishes the budget project. He said everything is under review by the Arizona Board of Regents.

"Much will be determined in the March meetings; it is good for the regents to stop and take a look," Valdez said.

He said an increase in funding is expected, but it is unknown how the regents will allocate the funds.

Valdez said the IIF could be put on hold, but he stressed that his job is to follow the regents' decisions.

Past board decisions have given the university the green light to proceed with projects like the IIF, Valdez said. He said the current board has decided to review such projects.

"We are under previous Board of Regents orders. If the new board comes in and wants us to review, then we will do that," Valdez said.

"I'm not advocating any one position at this point because it is too early."