FDU is looking for ways to balance the budget for the 2009-2010 academic year without raising tuition prices too much or taking services away from students.
As it stands right now, FDU is estimating that it will face a $3.4 million deficit next year. The administration is doing everything that it can to rectify this situation. Despite the projected deficit, President J. Michael Adams said he is committed to maintaining the same high level of services for students that are presently available.
In an interview, Adams outlined the three priorities the university has in dealing with the budget: “One, to maintain the integrity of the academic environment, two, to keep people employed, and three, ensure that the safety and security of the learning situation is maintained.”
Adams said that “this institution is in great condition.” A $3.4 million projected deficit may not sound very good, but overall, FDU is in good shape — compared to many other universities today that have resorted to job cuts and cutting courses.
Despite the economic downturn, FDU is committed to maintaining access and services for students. University Provost Joseph Kiernan said in an interview that next year, FDU “will be putting in the smallest percentage tuition increase that we have ever had — it’s only 3.9 percent.” That percentage has been lowered since The Metro first reported on the tuition increase in the Feb. 19 issue.
On top of that, the university is making substantial investments in financial aid beyond the normal amounts it has proposed in previous years.
Kiernan said that this extra money is to “help new students coming in and also for our existing students who run into problems renewing their loans or if their family situation changes and so forth. We are putting money aside so we can help students.”
John Schiemann, associate professor of political science, said that he “applauds the University’s desire not to raise tuition to cover the budget deficit,” but he expressed concern that the deficit would have to filled by reductions in faculty and staff salaries. Schiemann and other faculty members also articulated fears that FDU will be cutting salaries of faculty and staff by a blanket 6 percent.
In response to faculty concerns, College at Florham Provost Kenneth Greene said that FDU was not thinking about instituting a blanket 6 percent cut. He said that number simply came up because 1 percent of the monies spent on salaries is about $600,000 — thus 6 percent would yield $3.6 million and effectively fill the hole in the budget. Greene stressed that this number had not been voted on and “we never said that we were going to do it.”
Kiernan also added that “it’s just a simple statement: $3.4 million is about 6 percent of salaries. It’s just a guideline. There will not be 6 percent across the board. There will not be a similar same percentage on every salary level.”
Kiernan said of FDU’s budget that the majority of it is in compensation (salaries and benefits).
Schiemann said that the faculty want to be included in the budget decision process. He said that he wants “assurance that all other alternatives are being explored and transparency in how [the university] came to the budget conclusions.”
In an email, Greene said that the budget is developed by the University Planning and Budget Committee (UPBC), which has 11 members — “5 administrators chosen by the president, 5 faculty members elected by the faculty, and the president of the Professional Administrative Senate (Valerie Adams).” The UPBC drafts the budget and gives it to the president for final review.
Kiernan said the deficit “will be solved.” There’s probably “going to be some pain in many places, but the academic programs will be maintained, student services will be maintained and student support will be maintained.”
Kiernan did say, though, that salary or benefit reductions were “a possible solution. Assuming there are no layoffs or reductions in force, it has to be reductions in compensation.”
Of course, if enough students return in the fall, there may not be a deficit at all. The tricky thing about this budget is that FDU will not know how much money will be coming in until October when all the incoming freshmen and returning students are in.
According to Greene, if fewer students come to FDU, then the budget problem could be worse and inversely, if more students come to FDU, then the deficit may not be an issue.
To deal with the deficit, FDU has already instituted a limited hiring freeze.
As discussed in an April 9 story in The Metro, the hiring freeze does not apply to positions relating to student health andsafety. Kiernan stressed that if FDU was in a real financial emergency, then “even those things would be on the table,” and they are not.
Adams said that the university is committed to keeping people employed and maintaining the current learning environment for the students.
He also said that “the only real asset in a university is people. The buildings are nice, but the reality is it is what happens between faculty and students, between staff and students. I don’t want an environment where we are laying off and firing our main asset.”
As The Metro reported on April 23, FDU has had a 15 percent increase in freshman applications and a 25 percent increase in acceptances over past years. Greene said “the problem can get better and we hope it will. The problem can also get worse and we hope it won’t. We will know in the fall. The budget is based on a conservative projection of the numbers.”
Kiernan stressed that no matter what happens with the economy and the budget, FDU will get through it.
“This is a very resilient organization, and it has survived many challenges that other institutions would not have. We will get through this,” he said.
Greene will hold a campus meeting about the budget on Tuesday, May 12, at 3 p.m. at a location not yet announced.
DAN LANDAU
Photo Editor
