State’s college system faces cost cuts, drop in enrollment

Officials in the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities’ system are planning cost-cutting measures in the upcoming year to combat revenue losses from declining enrollment.

The moves — which include cutting programs and not filling positions following retirements — are controversial among some faculty members, many of whom think the way to improve enrollment isn’t through cuts but through bolstering programming and services for students. The problems within the system’s finances, they argue, start with a lack of state support.

“Faculty have experienced the impact of it [costcutting measures], and so have the students,” said Brendan Cunningham, an economics professor at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic.

The state’s public higher education system, which has a budget of about $1.5 billion, has been mired in financial woes for years, notably at Western Connecticut State Universityin Danbury, where President John Clark recently stepped down following a vote of no confidence from the faculty senate earlier this year.

“We need to be more efficient and effective in the way we allocate resources that are commensurate with outcomes, impact, and ultimately student success,” CSCU spokesman Leigh Appleby said in an email. “We are simply not where we want to be right now, and major change is needed if we hope to not only survive, but ultimately thrive.”

Appleby cited several improvements to programs and grants, including the implementation of the Guided Pathway program which he said officials expect to have a “dramatic impact on student retention and enrollment.” Guided Pathway aims to streamline students’ paths through college.

With the exception of Charter Oak State College in New Britain, all system schools project a balanced budget for fiscal year 2023. Charter Oak is expecting a loss of $1.2 million because of some one-time program start-up costs and the timing of the SEBAC agreement payments, according to a June presentation to the Board of Regents.

A part of that balanced budget came from about $300 million in one-time American Rescue Plan Act funding from the state that covered an additional payroll period, which cost about $18.4 million. Central State Connecticut University in New Britain, for example, would have had a deficit of just over $1 million without the one-time funding.

The Board of Regents increased fiscal year 2022-23 tuition and mandatory fees for full-time community college students who pay out of pocket by $112 per semester and for state universities and Charter Oak students by $291 per semester.

The system has predicted a more than $250 million budget shortfall from fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2023 because of employee raises, fringe benefits, an additional payroll period and a decrease in enrollment because of COVID-19, according to CSCU.

The system is also undergoing a merger of its 12 community colleges into one, which will move hundreds of employees into new positions, titles and organizations.

A 2021 report attributed the “weakened” performance of the state system from 2016 to 2019 to a decline in revenue from state appropriations and certain non-academic services, such as student housing and dining, combined with increases in non-personnel costs.

The report, developed by two professors for the American Association of University Professors, examined data from 2013 to 2020. The last year saw declines in revenue partly due to the pandemic.

“Overall, despite the decline in performance, the CSCU System has sufficient reserves to bridge any losses from the pandemic,” the report says. “The long-term decline in enrollment is concerning, but can mostly be managed through attrition of personnel.”

At its last meeting, the Board of Regents passed a spending plan that includes cost-cutting measures. Among those measures are program cuts and reductions.

For example, in June, the board approved the discontinuation of the Gerontology certificate program at Central CT State University.

While not all programs need to earn money, university officials are considering their solvency under the latest spending plan, said Ben Barnes, CSCU’s chief financial officer.

Cunningham said the system is “putting the cart in front of the horse” with this method. He said much of the revenue loss has been attributed to dropping enrollment, but that the subsequent program slashing may lead to a further loss in enrollment.

It’s also lead to an increased workload for some faculty, he said.