Colleagues,
As you know, the California State University system is being forced to absorb an unprecedented budget shortfall of $584 million this year. Each of the system’s 23 campuses is making extraordinarily difficult choices to address the situation. We have also been advised to prepare for additional years of inadequate state funding.
State appropriations for the CSU are now just $1.6 billion annually, which is nearly $600 million lower than a decade ago.
I have been meeting all summer with university leaders to plan for these budget cuts. They, in turn, have been working closely with their staff. In addition, Provost Snyder and I have met with groups across campus. Our work has been guided by the Budget Reduction Principles document, which can be found at the HSU Budget Website, along with the campus budget book and other budget information.
We have considered many options and alternatives, but the timeline of our academic calendar forces us to make decisions based on incomplete information. Much was dependent on the state finalizing a budget, which now appears imminent, and the CSU Board of Trustees taking action on systemwide approaches including furloughs and fee increases. Although there are more decisions to be made at the system level, we are moving forward with our budget plans.
HSU Reductions
Humboldt State is planning for a $12.2 million reduction from a general fund budget of $102 million. HSU’s cut would have been more than $15 million without the CSU Board of Trustees’ recent student fee increases.
The one-time salary savings from furloughs reduces the current year’s shortfall by $6.2 million.
After the fee increases and the furloughs, then, HSU still must plan for a reduction of $6 million for the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
Many months ago, we began addressing the expected shortfall by taking steps such as deferring equipment purchases, freezing non-essential new hires, and limiting travel. These measures will continue.
In addition, each division will have to make reductions to its original budget for the year. At this point, the best estimates of these reductions are as follows (reductions will be mitigated by one-time furlough savings within each division): the Academic Affairs $57.6 million budget will be reduced by $8.8 million; the Administrative Affairs $13.7 million budget will be reduced by $1.9 million; the Student Affairs $10.4 million budget will be reduced by $1.4 million; the University Advancement $2.2 million budget will be reduced by $148,000.
These reductions are the result of significant discussion and give-and-take among the Vice Presidents. They get us approximately where we need to be based on the current projections by the Chancellor’s Office and our Budget Office. However, it remains possible, despite our best efforts, that additional cuts may be needed in the spring.
This year Academic Affairs is being asked to take a slightly higher proportion of cuts than some of the other divisions. In past budget shortfalls we have tried to protect instruction by allocating a larger percentage of the reductions to infrastructure and support services, but we are no longer in a position to do that. Our spending on infrastructure, for example, has been cut so deeply that more cuts would eliminate basic and necessary services.
The vice presidents, deans, and directors will be making specific decisions related to these reductions during the remainder of the summer and well into the fall. Many decisions will need to be made quickly, but we will work diligently to gather input and ideas. Our priorities are the same as the CSU system’s—to serve our students and to preserve as many jobs as possible. We will continue to share the most recent developments with you.
Furloughs
In developing the plan and schedule for furloughs, our goal was to limit the impact on students and employees by closing campus offices on specific days each month where possible. The plan allows for exceptions, as approved by an employee’s supervisor.
The details of the furlough plans for the CSU Employees Union, the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, and non-represented employees such as management and confidential personnel are available on the Human Resources website at www.humboldt.edu/~hsuhr. Details regarding the furlough plans for other bargaining units will be distributed as soon as agreements are reached between the CSU and the individual unions. We will continue to post current information about employment issues related to this year’s budget on the Human Resources website.
Enrollment reduction
As part of the CSU’s overall effort to address expected funding shortfalls going forward, the Chancellor has directed the campuses to reduce overall enrollment of 450,000 by 40,000 over the next two years. The logic is clear: we simply cannot commit to educating students without the state funding needed to maintain quality. Obviously this strikes at the core of CSU’s mission of offering broad access to quality higher education, and it will be important for the CSU community to make that point clearly, persuasively, and consistently.
What this means for Humboldt State is about a 6 percent reduction in enrollment for 2010-11. As a step in that direction, we must ensure that this year’s enrollment does not exceed our target. However, given the growing demand for an HSU education and the pending arrival of our fourth large freshmen class in a row, that will not be a simple task.
The CSU’s recent decision to close spring admissions at all campuses will reduce our enrollment somewhat. We will make additional reductions by eliminating state-supported summer sessions, moving to a self-supported model which will be administered through Extended Education. The provost, deans, and staff in Enrollment Management will institute a variety of other approaches in the coming year to achieve additional reductions as necessary.
Looking forward
As far as budgets go, the road ahead is not promising. California’s economy continues to struggle, and tax revenue is expected to be much lower than usual for quite some time. The CSU was the beneficiary of about $640 million in federal stimulus funding this year, which will not be available next year. In addition, the furloughs that were approved by many unions this year have also generated savings that we cannot count on next year. So we must position ourselves for a budget in 2010-11 that may well be worse than this year’s budget.
We have increased the efficiency of a number of our operations over the last few years, and the budget situation will require us to do even more. We will need to make difficult budget decisions and reorganize ourselves to better handle this new fiscal reality. Our planning and choices will have to be highly focused and aligned with our priorities. We need to be much more strategic about all of our programs and services.
At the same time, our students may need special attention and guidance in the coming year. For incoming freshmen and transfer students, the usual confusion at a new place will be magnified by these budget cuts. For some continuing students, the rhythm of campus life may feel disrupted. In addition, fees for all our students have gone up, and while many will be helped by increases in financial aid, many others will be struggling to cover the increased costs.
In recent years we as a campus community have been focused on institutionally transformative work through the WASC reaffirmation of accreditation process, the Cabinet for Institutional Change, academic prioritization, consultation with outside experts and other efforts. That work has informed these reduction decisions and will help position HSU to emerge from the current challenges as a stronger institution whose activities are better aligned with its vision.
These are difficult times, but I know that the Humboldt State community will rise to the occasion. This is a place that has demonstrated time and again a deep commitment to students and their success.
Thank you for all your good work.
Sincerely yours,
Rollin C. Richmond
President