Yesterday, I read an article online about the University of South Dakota getting rid of landline telephones in all of their residence halls. My colleague, and fellow SA Blogger Bryan Koval, says Penn State has also taken the same step as a cost-saving measure.
Just the other day, I read another article about Hofstra Unviersity dropping its 69-year-old football program as a cost-saving measure.
Colleges and universities are taking some very drastic measures to cope with the budget crisis in higher education. It seems like all of the talk recently in staff meetings at my institution – and I’m sure many other institutions – is about how the budget crisis in our state is impacting what we do.
How do you continue to provide high quality services and programs with less and less money and fewer resources? I don’t know that there is any simple answer to this, but it’s a question burdening many of us.
My institution has seen a decrease in state funding support of about 35 percent over the past 7-8 years. Recently, the institution has implemented furlough days for its employees, put a hiring freeze on most positions, put stringent limitations on travel-related expenses, and increased the cost of many of its essential services.
This is all no surprise to any of us reading this blog, I’m sure.
I write this today to engage the readers in a discussion about what your departments are doing to creatively and effectively battle any budget-related shortfalls your institutions might be encountering. What are your departments doing that many of us may have not considered yet?
