The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will revise its budget today to include a $5 million revenue loss and strike $1.8 million from its budget beginning this month, the first of three rounds of budget cuts planned for this fiscal year.
A memo to employees Wednesday says university leaders also plan to ask University of Arkansas System trustees to close the school's Benton Center, separate from the $1.8 million in cuts this month. If approved, the closure would take place in the summer, after the spring semester.
Already anticipating covering a $6 million shortfall with reserves, the university must find $5 million to drop from its budget to make up for an expected revenue shortfall after planning for higher enrollment than was realized. Two more rounds will follow, in February and March.
A decade of declining enrollment has left university leaders planning for long-term change to "right-size" the school. New leadership oversees student affairs and budgeting processes and has altered long-time, recently criticized practices. An internal committee has recommended, during ongoing study, the consolidation of colleges, closing of buildings and replacement of some adjunct faculty positions with graduate teaching assistantships.
[DOCUMENT: First round cuts for fiscal year 2020 » arkansasonline.com/1219cuts/]
The university has made five-year enrollment projections on which leaders will base their budget strategy. Those projections were unavailable Wednesday. Spokeswoman Judy Williams said Cody Decker, the interim vice chancellor for student affairs, would have them but he was out of the office. Williams said no one else possessed the record.
The university enrolled 9,579 students this fall, according to its website. That's down 8.9% from 10,515 last fall, per final enrollment totals published by the Arkansas Division of Higher Education.
Chancellor Christina Drale announced the $1.8 million in reductions in a campus email Monday afternoon.
"Concerning the overall task of balancing our budget, I know that some have expressed concern that we haven't acted quickly enough, while others have expressed concern that we might act too quickly without a full deliberative process," Drale wrote. "My job as your chancellor is to find the right balance of timely, decisive action and slower, more inclusive decision-making. You can expect to see a combination of these."
[DOCUMENT: UALR budget building process » arkansasonline.com/1219budget/]
The cuts are of "available funds without any major institutional reorganization" based primarily on vice chancellor recommendations. Other proposed cuts are being reviewed across campus, Drale wrote.
The fall semester has ended and commencement took place Saturday. The university closes Friday for the holidays. Messages left for faculty and staff leaders were not returned Wednesday.
The downsizing includes 16 jobs and maintenance spending. An inquiry from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about whether some of the positions were currently filled went unanswered Wednesday. At least some were not filled.
Hiring for nonessential positions has been frozen for several months to save money, but positions were not explicitly cut.
The university has cut from maintenance budgets before when facing revenue shortfalls. Each department has a maintenance budget, and it covers nonsalary needs, including technology and other overhead costs. This time, the university will cut $591,360 from several offices: the Benton instruction center, advancement, athletics (the highest, at $182,360), facilities, public safety and information technology.
The cut positions include two faculty members: assistant professors of art and economics.
The Emerging Analytics Center will lose two jobs: a senior research scientist and its director. The director position will be reassigned internally.
Four other positions will be lost in the academic affairs division.
The advancement office will lose four jobs: associate vice chancellor, two research assistants and a specialist.
Student affairs will lose four jobs: financial aid director, assistant vice chancellor for student leadership and special projects, a research assistant and a student development specialist. The assistant financial aid director has assumed director responsibilities, and duties of the assistant vice chancellor and research assistant have been reassigned to existing staff.
A good chunk of the cuts -- $352,000 -- goes toward athletic scholarships. That reflects actual scholarship expenditures, meaning current student-athletes won't lose scholarships.
Ottenheimer Library will lose a librarian and some of its collections, saving $89,915.
The Benton Center will lose $50,000 toward maintenance.
The Benton Center's student population is less than it used to be, although it was unclear Wednesday by how much. The center's population is a mix of students who only take courses offered through the center and students who take courses offered at the main campus.
A total of 248 took courses through the Benton Center this fall, either online, face to face or a hybrid of both. Thirty-six exclusively took courses through the center.
"In recent years, the center has reflected an enrollment shift from face-to-face classes to online enrollment," Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Ann Bain wrote to university employees. "Because of this trend, staffing structure and facility costs at the Benton Center no longer make operation of this extended campus economically feasible."
Students can take spring courses at the Benton campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays before the possible closure in June.
The center's budget for this year was $594,043, said Angelita Faller, a university spokeswoman, although that total is not specifically ascribed to the Benton campus in the university's budget. It expects to lose $24,264.28.
For this school year, the university anticipated $664,259 in tuition and fees from fall and spring Benton Center students, according to its budget.
In fiscal 2011, the university budgeted to spend $940,949, according to that year's budget. That budget did not detail anticipated revenue.
The university intends to continue a relationship with Saline County, however, Bain wrote. The university has a dedicated recruiter for the county. Student Affairs has sponsored application days at the county's high schools, waived student application fees and sponsored school counselor luncheons.
"Throughout the transition process, the university will engage and seek feedback from our Saline County partners, including the educational, medical and business community," Bain wrote. "This includes consideration of providing flexible classes in other locations in Saline County."
Metro on 12/19/2019