Columbus State university faces budget cuts that might include layoffs. Here’s why
Columbus State University’s student enrollment decline has prompted the administration to start planning for budget cuts that most likely will involve employee layoffs if the trend doesn’t improve.
“I think that we could very well end up in a position that, if we do not get enrollment where it needs to be, where it really ought to be, I think it would be difficult to get where we ultimately have to land without it impacting some filled positions,” incoming CSU interim president John Fuchko III told the Ledger-Enquirer.
Fuchko started working full-time on campus June 1 as the university’s leadership transitions from Chris Markwood, who is scheduled to retire June 30 after seven years as CSU president.
In the fall 2021 semester, CSU’s enrollment of 7,924 students was down 5.4% from fall 2020, while the University System of Georgia’s enrollment dipped 0.2% to 340,638. Only seven of USG’s 26 institutions had a larger decrease in enrollment during that period than CSU. The highest fall semester enrollment at CSU during the past 10 years was 8,453 in 2017.
The story was similar in the spring 2022 semester. CSU’s enrollment of 7,228 was down 6.3% from spring 2021, while USG’s enrollment of 314,318 dipped 0.9%. Only nine of USG’s 26 institutions had a larger decrease in enrollment during that period than CSU.
How does Columbus State’s enrollment affect its funding?
The annual funding each USG institution receives from state revenue is largely based on enrollment two years prior. But revenue from tuition affects the institution immediately. So in the fiscal year 2023 budget, which starts July 1, CSU’s internal revenue decreased because of its FY22 enrollment decline, but its state funding increased because of its FY21 enrollment rise.
So based on its FY22 enrollment decline, CSU projects to have a $4.77 million cut in state funding for FY24 out of a budget that increased from $116.4 million for FY22 to $116.8 million in FY23. And with CSU on pace to have a 3% enrollment decline in the fall 2022 semester, Fuchko already is bracing faculty and staff for some tough budget choices for the next two fiscal years.
“What I don’t want to do, what I think is disruptive — unnecessarily disrupting — is to do this sort of exercise every six or nine months,” he said. “It’s demoralizing. It’s not efficient. It’s not long-term. … So my thought process, the team’s thought process, is let’s look at what we’re going to end up with in enrollment. What does that mean for (FY)24? What does that mean for (FY)25? And what does that number come down to? It will be something more than $5 million because there’s going to be some enrollment impact.”
All of which means CSU must prepare for budget cuts ranging from 4% to 9%, Fuchko said.
What factors contribute to CSU’s enrollment decline?
Fuchko figures the cause of CSU’s enrollment decline is multifaceted.
“I’m not sure fully what the COVID impact is and also the economic impact,” he said. “. . . There are demographic issues in certain parts of the state that make it difficult. I think that’s probably longer term a big part of that. Interestingly too, we also had a pretty big jump (in enrollment last year). So some of the decline this year is a function of having a pretty big jump the year prior. If you take that out, then you’d have a slightly different number that looks a little more steady.”
Regardless, the enrollment quantity isn’t a reflection of CSU’s quality, Fuchko insists.
“I think our programs are strong,” he said. “It’s a great community, . . . which is why I’m really very optimistic about our ability to get ourselves in the right spot.”
Does CSU have a hiring freeze?
Although CSU didn’t lay off any employees for FY23, the university chose to not fill 11 vacancies (eight faculty positions and three staff positions) in addition to expense reductions in categories such as maintenance, operations, travel and equipment for savings of nearly $2.1 million to balance the budget, Columbus State spokesman Michael Tullier told the L-E in an email. As of May 31, CSU had 1,226 employees (328 faculty, 436 staff and 462 part-time) and 117 advertised job vacancies.
CSU doesn’t have a hiring freeze, Tullier said, but will “scrutinize the necessity of newly proposed positions, as well as vacant positions.”
That makes CSU’s fall 2022 enrollment even more critical.
“If we’re significantly down in enrollment, that absolutely could generate some immediate reductions,” Fuchko said. “We will be very, very cautious about filling any positions, particularly over the next couple of months as we see where we land for the fall.”
For CSU faculty contracts to not be renewed, they must be notified nine months in advance if they have at least three years of experience, Fuchko said, and six months in advance for two years of experience and three months in advance for one year of experience. But he doesn’t want to wait until the last required moment.
“This is really focused on getting ready for (FY)24 and recognizing we can’t start thinking about that in March of next year,” he said. “… If we plan it now, measure twice, cut once, you can actually get to making it where you’re strategically making yourself better and at the same time not doing anything that causes unnecessary difficulty or pain in people’s individual experiences. At the end of the day, sometimes that is unavoidable, but the further in advance you do it, the more you can do it in the right way.”
The right way includes trying to find alternative positions at CSU or elsewhere in USG for employees whose jobs are eliminated, Fuchko said.
Why is CSU sounding the alarm now?
Asked why he is disclosing the bad news now instead of hoping for it to get better, Fuchko said, “One of my roles as the interim president is to position the institution for that next permanent president. … I won’t be doing Columbus State or the community any favors pushing those things off, and then somebody starts as permanent (president) and, ‘Here you go. Now you’ve got to deal with all this.’ That would be unfair to that person. It may make it difficult to recruit under those circumstances.”
Fuchko dismissed the possibility of reducing salaries to save money in the budget instead of laying off employees.
“I don’t think that’s generally a good way of going about that, particularly with inflation,” he said. “If your job is necessary, then you should be paid what you should be paid.”
Will faculty and staff have input on CSU budget cuts?
Fuchko emphasized faculty and staff representatives will help decide the budget cuts.
“They are difficult conversations,” he said. “There’s no way around that. At the end of the day, we have to drive to a decision. That will be the responsibility of the leadership team and ultimately of me. … But we hope to get there in a way that involves and engages the creativity and the expertise of this community.”
In a May 26 email to colleagues, CSU interim provost Pat McHenry said CSU Faculty Senate executive officer Troy Keller, a professor of earth and space sciences, will help create a task force comprising faculty senators or designees, along with administrators, to submit “data-informed recommendations” for budget cuts by June 27.
After receiving the task force’s recommendations, Fuchko and McHenry will consult with deans and others to submit CSU’s proposed budget cuts to USG in July for review and approval, McHenry said.
“As part of our commitment to transparency and shared governance, we will keep the campus community informed at every step of the process and encourage the sharing of ideas through a website and through forums held by task force subgroups,” McHenry said in the email.
In a May 27 email to CSU faculty and instructors, the senate’s executive council said the task force will include 14 faculty members proportionately representing their college or unit.
“We should emphasize the point that faculty serving on this task force will not recommend changes to specific faculty lines,” the executive council said in the email. “Decisions regarding which faculty will be non-renewed or reassigned will be made by administration.”
CSU biology professor Brian Schwartz, an at-large member on the senate’s executive council and president of the local American Association of University Professors chapter, told the L-E in an email the AAUP doesn’t have an official role in CSU’s budget process, but “we will encourage AAUP members to serve on the task force and future task forces that are charged with overseeing faculty reductions in order to maximize the likelihood of AAUP guidelines being followed.”
CSU Staff Council chairman William Keen told the L-E in an email he already has been involved in budgetary discussions with the administration’s executive team members.
Although news of the pending budget cuts is “potentially concerning,” Keen said, he praised the university’s leadership for its communication and transparency.
“I am reassured that they will be making decisions for the university that impact students, faculty/staff, and the overall Columbus community with the utmost care and concern to continue moving forward in a positive direction,” said Keen, CSU’s coordinator of fraternity and sorority life.
Keen added, “While we are in a time of transition here at Columbus State University, I believe that at our core we are a strong university that offers top-notch programs, continues to be a pioneer within the University System of Georgia in the programs we offer, and have great resources within the USG and peer institutions to offer guidance during this time.”
COLUMBUS STATE FALL ENROLLMENT
- 2021: 7,924
- 2020: 8,376
- 2019: 7,877
- 2018: 8,076
- 2017: 8,453
- 2016: 8,407
- 2015: 8,440
- 2014: 8,192
- 2013: 8,156
- 2012: 8,239
- 2011: 8,307
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 10:28 AM.
