SCSU Faces Budget Deficit – Proposes Program and Staff Cuts
ST. CLOUD (WJON News) - St. Cloud State University is facing a budget deficit of more than $18 million in the 2022-2023 school year. As a result, the university has made some hard decisions.
SCSU has proposed a reduction of 37 employees (23 faculty and 14 staff) in the 2024 school year, as well as the elimination of several majors and graduate programs.
Officials have released a list of the proposed program cuts:
Majors
- Philosophy, BA
- Philosophy Interdisciplinary, BA
- Real Estate, BS
- Theatre and Social Change, BA
- Insurance, BS
- Nuclear Medicine Technology
Master’s
- Marriage & Family Therapy, MS
Grad Certificates
- Marriage & Family Therapy
Minors
- British Studies
- Ethics
- Ethics Interdisciplinary
- Philosophy
- Philosophy Interdisciplinary
- Religious Studies
- Theatre
SCSU, along with many universities nationwide, is dealing with a significant enrollment decline. Research has found the student population at SCSU has dropped by almost 50 percent since 2010.
Officials say the budget deficit has several reasons:
- A decline in the number of graduating seniors over the past decade.
- Inflationary increases in the cost of operations.
- Decreases in state and federal funding.
- High instructional costs to deliver programs.
SCSU Vice President for Finance and Administration Larry Lee says the changes should put the university on a better track.
We are acting now to build a budget on firm footing and using our ‘It’s Time’ vision we are developing a multi-year plan to reposition the university for a bright future.
Additional research shows only 37 of the 157 degree programs at the university enroll over 75% of the undergraduate students. At the graduate level, 24 of the more than 80 graduate programs account for 75% of the student population.
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