Southeast Missouri State University looking at millions in budget cuts

Eliminating faculty positions will be part of a two-year approach to address budget shortfalls at Southeast Missouri State University.

The university's board of regents will meet today to discuss a budget review process that will outline $7.76 million in cuts over the next two years.

"Doing business differently is one of the things we have to look at," said Southeast president Dr. Ken Dobbins.

In addition to the budget review committee that helps prepare the budget every year, special subcommittees were set up to evaluate $2 million in cuts. The eight subcommittees will re-evaluate things such as scholarship programs, athletics and fee structures.

Universitywide there will also be a 5 percent reduction in academic division budgets. The provost and deans within academic affairs will identify $3.95 million in cuts.

Provost Dr. Jane Stephens said three faculty positions will be cut and possibly more. The university is required to notify those faculty members before classes start in January, Dobbins said. Additional staff cuts could be identified throughout the review process, he said.

Stephens said 16 vacant positions will not be filled. So far, she said, academic programs are only going to be trimmed.

"If there are other cuts, we'll have to go into a more serious look into entire programs," she said.

This year, state universities received federal stabilization money to keep their appropriation the same based on an agreement with Gov. Jay Nixon to freeze tuition. The university's $96.9 million budget includes $5.36 million in stabilization funds.

Southeast also made $1.9 million in cuts for the current fiscal year to account for increased costs. About $834,000 was allocated for anticipated future budget shortfalls and will be used toward the $7.76 million in cuts.

Nixon made a similar arrangement with state university presidents again last month. If his plan is approved by the legislature, state universities will face a 5.2 percent reduction in funding in exchange for freezing tuition. For Southeast, the reduction would be about $2.53 million.

Dobbins said the last time the university resorted to personnel cuts to help balance the budget was in 2002, when Southeast faced multimillion-dollar cuts in state appropriations. The university used a similar comprehensive budget process then.

"I want to hear from a lot of people what we can and can't do," he said.

The recommendations will be presented to the board of regents in March.

The cuts come at a time when the university is investing in a local community college center in conjunction with other institutions. Dobbins said Southeast's share of funding for the first year of the center will come from the university's rainy-day fund, a pot of about $5 million. During the second year of the program, the center's funding will be incorporated in the budget review process. Dobbins said the university may also have to draw from the rainy-day fund to enact the two-year budget plan.

The board of regents will meet at 1:30 p.m. today in the Glenn Convocation Center at the River Campus.

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