OU loses millions because of COVID-19
NORMAN—The University of Oklahoma has sustained significant financial losses during the COVID- 19 pandemic, officials say.
Interim President Joseph Harroz reported to the OU Board of Regents on Friday that the Norman campus lost $4.2 million from tuition and food refunds, cancellation of events and extra cleaning expenses.
A loss of patient services and elective procedures cost the OU Health Sciences Center about $ 10.5 million, Harroz said.
The Oklahoma City hospital also lost funds when preparing extra capacity for a possible surge of COVID19 patients.
“That came at a financial cost, but i t's the right thing to do ,” Harroz said .“More so t han other hospitals, we made sure that we were the primary hospital for COVID. There's a cost to that. We're willing to pay for it, but it is a role that we play.”
OU is receiving nearly $18 million from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. Although federal support helps, it“certainly is not sufficient” to fully mitigate all of O U' sC OVID-related costs, Harro zs aid. OU Medicine received $24 million in federal aid from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through a portion of the CARES Act dedicated to hospitals and health care providers.
The university has attempted to offset expenses by implementing hiring freezes, furloughing student workers and deferring capital improvement projects.
The Health Sciences Center could rebound favorably with elective surgeries beginning again in Oklahoma this week, Harroz said.
Football is“the revenue sport” for the university, but the status of the fall sports season is uncertain, he said. OU would need clearance from the NCAA and the Big 12 Conference before the Sooners could take the field.
“We do not control our destiny in athletics,” Harroz said .“The belief right now is that there will be sports in the fall. The question( of) in what form and exactly how is ... being worked on daily for which there are not bright and clear answers at this moment. It is a serious work in progress ."
OU intend store turn to in-person classes this fall. The university moved all instruction online after spring break to prevent spread of the coronavirus.
Administrators are planning safety precautions for a return to campus, including COVID- 19 testing, contact tracing, PPE requirements and extensive cleaning. OU could length en the hours of its school day to 9 p.m. and add time in between classes to limit person-to-person contact.
Classes could take place in larger rooms to allow for social distancing.
Although national proje ct ions predicted a 15% drop in college enrollment, OU is seeing only a 2% to 3% decrease in freshman commitments, Harroz said. Summer online enrollment is up 20% within-person classes unavailable until the fall.
The board of regents approved two dean appointments during its meeting Friday. Martha D. Banz was appointed as dean of the College of Professional and Continuing Studies, and Corey P helps will become the dean of the Michael F. Price College of Business.
The regents also approved a measure allowing the OU College of Law to accept scores from Graduate Record Examinations, or G RE. OU' slaw school has only allowed applicants to submit scores from the Law School Admission Test, known as the LSAT.
Regent Michael Ca wley questioned whether the measure would make it easier for applicants to be accepted to OU l aw. Harroz assured the board other top law schools now welcome the GRE, and it would allow OU to tap into a larger pool of applicants.
Many colleges and Ivy League institutions accept the GRE for admission to their law schools, including Harvard and Yale.
The regents will meet again at 8:45 a.m. Saturday mostly in pr iv a tee xe cut ive session. The board will discuss Harroz's performance as interim president and could take action on the hiring of a permanent president, according to the meeting agenda.