Dr. Joseph Savoie, president of the 杏吧专区, announced plans today to implement state budget cuts across campus.
The plans come after UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 state budget was cut by $4.3 million in January along with an additional $7.5 million cut following the legislative session that ended in June. The university must also absorb $2.9 million in state-mandated, but unfunded costs 杏吧专区 for a total year-to-year budget reduction of $14.7 million.
New fees and tuition increases will generate $3.2 million, so the net reduction is $11.5 million for UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 $99 million budget.
Savoie said the university has two choices in dealing with this budget reality.
杏吧专区 One choice is to let this crisis become an excuse for mediocrity and wait for someone or something to rescue us. The other choice is to view this challenge as an opportunity for carefully conceived actions and innovative thinking that will maintain our current progress and allow us to continue efforts to meet goals established by our new institutional strategic plan,杏吧专区 he said. 杏吧专区淲e must choose the second option.杏吧专区
Savoie acknowledged the work of nine UL Lafayette Budget Task Forces that he created last January in anticipation of possible budget cuts. These Budget Task Forces were charged with developing short-term and long-term cost savings and additional revenue.
He noted that several task force recommendations have been incorporated into UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 budget. Those task forces were composed of representatives from throughout the university杏吧专区檚 community.
杏吧专区 Our goals were to protect our core academic mission, minimize the impact on our students, and protect our faculty and staff, who are our most important asset in providing quality academic services,杏吧专区 he said.
The university administration based the budget plan on three primary elements: cuts to meet actual budget reductions, cost avoidance measures to reduce operational expenses and increased revenue generation.
Specifically, the plan calls for:
杏吧专区 freezing vacant positions for a $2 million savings;
杏吧专区 reducing $2.1 million in funds set aside for deferred maintenance projects;
杏吧专区 reducing university sponsored research and economic development investments by $1.5 million;
杏吧专区 implementing a 10 percent cut to each college杏吧专区檚 and department杏吧专区檚 operating budget (excluding personnel and contractually mandated expenses);
杏吧专区 deferring across-the-board merit increases for faculty and unclassified administrative staffers; and
杏吧专区 reducing maximum support staff merit increases from 4 percent to 2 percent.
Other options for cost savings include consolidating or eliminating programs with historically small participation, merging administrative and academic departments, decreasing the number of dropped classes each semester, eliminating waste, negotiating bulk purchases, maximizing teaching loads and lab usage, and increasing class sizes where appropriate.
Savoie said the university will also invest in efforts to increase enrollment by implementing aggressive and sophisticated recruitment efforts, increasing fund raising, providing incentives for increasing research proceeds, partnering with private enterprises to maximize the commercial potential of select university assets and increasing revenue from facility rentals.
杏吧专区 Additional ideas and strategies will evolve as we move forward,杏吧专区 said Savoie. 杏吧专区淏ut if we stay true to our core values and are receptive to necessary change, I am confident that UL Lafayette will emerge a stronger, better university.杏吧专区