By Kari Merrill
Current budget cut propositions are pushing Utah State University towards a major financial crunch, according to a budget report released by USU president Stan Albrecht.
The report, released fall 2008, outlines the possible impacts of the $6.5 million in cuts to the school''s funding. It also includes a list of procedures in place to make the impact less severe.
Last October, President Albrecht organized a six-member committee in response to the cuts. The committee has since been holding meetings aimed at reducing the effects of the budget reductions.
According to the budget report, the cuts will be planned to protect the future of the university, but will still cause a necessity for many sacrifices, including a down-size in staffing.
'Given the magnitude and permanence of the cuts being imposed, we anticipate that we will be unable to avoid a reduction in our workforce,' the budget report says.
The workforce reduction will include three efforts; not replacing resigning professors or those retiring, not filling open positions and, in a few rare cases, laying-off current professors. All decisions will be made only after a review by the USU Office of Human Resources and a final review by President Albrecht.
Audrey Evensen, a junior at USU, said she believes the budget cuts shouldn''t impact professors.
'There are some things in college that you can cut out, but teachers aren''t one of them,' she said. 'Why are we saving our football team when our teachers are in jeopardy?'
Despite this sentiment, the administration said it is doing the best it can.
'Let me assure you that we will continue to work very hard with out legislators, with the Governor''s office, and with our various other constituents around the state to make the case for higher education,' Albrecht said in a news release.
Since the budget report release last year, proposed cuts have increased, but have been split into stages to reduce the impact. Whether USU will be pushed into declaring a financial crisis depends mainly on the governor and legislature, according to an article in The Utah Statesman, the campus paper for USU.
If further cuts are approved, consequences could include lower enrollment allowances, fewer classes offered with larger student per professor ratios, increased time to graduation, higher tuition and continued reduction in professors and staff. These problems could then continue on to affect local and state economies, according to the report.
'Even with the most optimistic scenario, it is evident that we have difficult work ahead,' Albrecht said in the report. 'I believe that the process we put in place for the first round of cuts has worked well, so my intention is to continue to use that committee structure as we look ahead.'
More concrete budget sums will be available from the Utah Legislature during mid February.