A Message from the President
May 5, 2010 - Budget update to faculty and staff
As we approach the end of the spring semester, I thought it would be appropriate to update the campus on a number of budget-related issues.
As you know from my April 16 Campus Update, Southeastern has been
told to plan to absorb an additional $1.825 million reduction in
our operating budget in the current fiscal year that ends June
30. Under Governor Jindal’s proposal to the Legislature
to address the current shortfall, this reduction will be met
through savings from personnel attrition and the previously enacted
spending freeze.
As originally proposed by the Governor, the State budget for the
upcoming 2010-11 fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2010, does not
reflect additional reductions for higher education; however, the
same shortfall in state tax collections which resulted in the most
recent budget reduction also has a negative impact on the proposed
budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year. At this point, it is
unclear how the Legislature ultimately will choose to resolve the
projected shortfall in the 2010-11 budget and how those decisions
might impact higher education and Southeastern.
In addition, given the upcoming expiration of federal stimulus
funds that are helping to shore up the State’s current and
proposed 2010-11 budgets, I continue to have significant concerns
about our budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year.
Furthermore, I am very cognizant of the fact that units cannot
function indefinitely without a reasonable level of operating
resources. Four budget reductions totaling nearly $16 million
in the past 18 months have decimated operating resources for budget
units across campus. The resulting reality is that we may
have to eliminate or further reduce funding for some activities in
order to return some operating funds to those activities that are
most vital to the University’s future.
On the revenue side, while we anticipate being able to raise
tuition by five percent next year in accordance with previously
approved legislation, unfortunately, the additional revenue does
not provide much net budget relief. In fact, the anticipated
revenue from the increase is about $2 million, while anticipated
increased expenses next year attributed to retirement and
healthcare benefits, along with mandatory risk management costs,
will amount to about $3 million.
The proposed LA GRAD Act would allow colleges and universities to
enact additional tuition increases, tied to higher performance
expectations; however, at this point legislative approval is far
from certain.
Going forward, our ability to effectively “manage” all
of these potential budget issues requires that we continue to be
proactive and take action to position the University to remain
viable in the face of additional budget challenges that
increasingly appear likely. This means we cannot afford to
take a “wait and see” approach but instead will
continue to move forward with additional elements of our strategic
budget plan.
First, as you know, last week we launched a Retirement/Resignation
Incentive Plan for Tenured Faculty. Legal and policy
constraints significantly limit our ability to directly impact the
substantial instructional costs represented by salaries and
benefits of tenured faculty. Consistent with a recent change
in University of Louisiana System policy, our Incentive Plan
provides retirement incentives to a limited number of tenured
faculty members with the priority based on those earning the
highest salaries relative to their peers at other institutions.
Second, we will continue to move forward with prioritization of
both academic and non-academic programs with the goal of reducing
and/or eliminating some programs to ensure the most effective use
of our diminishing resources.
For non-academic programs, we are carefully evaluating financial
data, along with information about mission-related impact and other
criteria-based assessments in order to discern the best course of
action for each program.
For academic programs, a Task Force made up of academic deans and
senior college faculty will review the data collected to date in
light of previously-determined program prioritization
criteria. These criteria and data can be viewed at the
following link:
http://www.selu.edu/admin/president/prioritization_acad/review_materials/index.html.
Finally, I regret to report that in the weeks and months ahead, we
anticipate some additional organizational changes and personnel
reductions in order to achieve further cost savings in future
fiscal years.
I realize there is a great deal of concern and unease among faculty
and staff about the uncertainty associated with future
budgets. Unfortunately, current economic circumstances and
political realities do not augur for the level of certainty we all
prefer where future events are concerned. I am confident,
however, that the pursuit of the additional budget reduction
strategies described above, in conjunction with previously
implemented actions, will position our institution to endure these
uncertain times.
In conclusion, I want to thank all of you for continuing to focus
on serving our current and future students. I am pleased to
report that at this point, enrollment projections for the upcoming
summer and fall semesters are very positive - both in terms of the
numbers of students, as well as the numbers of new students with
outstanding academic qualifications.
As always, additional details and developments will be promptly
shared with the campus community.
John L. Crain,
President