The University’s $3.4 million midyear budget cut was less than anticipated and modest compared to others the University has experienced in the past five years, according to Interim System President and Chancellor William “Bill” Jenkins.
The cut, announced by Jenkins on Dec. 20, is the least severe of five consecutive midyear cuts the University has undergone since 2008.
The midyear cuts have varied in amount, the most severe being a $15.7 million cutback in the 2009-10 fiscal year.
“Theoretically, it’s an annual budget, but as you see, every year for the last five years, it’s become common that we have to plan for these type of midyear cuts,” said Tommy Smith, director of the Office of Budget and Planning. “Obviously we don’t have an annual budget any more. They haven’t been annual in a long time. We have six month budgets.”
Since 2008, Gov. Bobby Jindal and the Louisiana legislature have cut more than $425 million from the higher education budget, according to The Advocate. Higher education isn’t constitutionally protected from budget cuts like other areas that receive state funds, like K-12 education.
“When you see all these budget cuts, it affects two things: number one is your tuition has replaced those dollars. Second, the administration,” said Robert Kuhn, vice provost and associate vice chancellor of Budget and Planning and interim vice chancellor for Finance and Administrative Services and CFO.
To combat budget cuts, the University must continue to increase self-generated funds, which consist largely of tuition and fees, Jenkins said.
Policy changes in the past five years have switched from more state support and lower tuition to more tuition and lower state support, Kuhn said.
“We’ve become tuition dependent. We’ve had to deal with tuition increases, and that can’t go on forever,” Jenkins said. “You reach a tipping point where you begin to lose students.”
While tuition has increased, faculty compensation — which constitutes about 75 percent of University expenditures — has not increased in four years.
“Imagine what LSU would look like today if state appropriations had stayed the same, and we’d have increased self-generated funds,” Kuhn said. “We wouldn’t have a problem talking about recruiting faculty, faculty pay raises, student services, mentoring, counseling, facility infrastructure.”
Jenkins said the University’s stagnant faculty salaries put it at a disadvantage when compared to other universities that aren’t experiencing the same midyear cutbacks.
“What you want to see is a university that’s able to hang on to the best and brightest and recruit the best and brightest faculty and staff to serve you,” Bell said. “That right now is a challenge that the state budget reduction has caused on us — our ability to provide everything students need. Faculty and staff are a huge part of that.”
Decreased state appropriations are only part of the problem, Smith said. In addition to a decreasing budget, the University faces increased mandatory fees despite stagnant faculty compensation.
Though the cuts have persisted, Director of External Affairs Jason Droddy said most students don’t notice the changes they bring about.
“Had you been here five years ago, you’d have had a slightly smaller class, but now your class is bigger and you’re paying more money,” Droddy said. “You may not notice the change, but the change is out there.”
Kuhn said he worries the current trend will eventually prove unsustainable for the University’s operations.
“There is going to come a point where we’re not going to be able to produce self-generated funds sufficient to cover reductions in the state appropriations,” Kuhn said. “If the state would stop substituting your tuition income for reductions in state appropriation, LSU can begin to climb out of this fiscal crisis or hole that we’re in.”
