Archived article from September 13, 2006
This summer, the Rutgers Board of Governors approved a universitywide budget that includes $50 million in cuts, affecting virtually all academic and administrative operations at Rutgers. These reductions have led departments across the university to take potent and far-reaching measures to cope with the cuts and maintain the quality of a Rutgers education.
The state budget adopted in July left Rutgers with a $66 million shortfall in state funding, the largest in university history. Other mandatory cost increases took the budget shortfall to $80 million. The result thus far is the cancellation of approximately 450 course sections, the phasing out of six intercollegiate varsity sports, 185 layoffs or eliminated positions, and a reduction in services and delayed improvements to campus facilities.
The board also established tuition, fee, and room and board rates for the 2006-2007 academic year. Total charges for a typical in-state undergraduate student living on campus will rise by 6.7 percent. Tuition for most in-state undergraduates will increase 8 percent, to $7,923 for the coming year. Out-of-state tuition will rise 10 percent. Due to inadequate state funding, tuition at Rutgers has increased more than 65 percent since fiscal year 2000.
“The board would have preferred to keep the increase in tuition lower than the 8 percent that most undergraduates will see,” board chairman Albert R. Gamper said. “However, the severity of the cuts in state funding means that tuition increases are necessary to protect academic programs and student services from even more serious cuts.”
Departments across Rutgers have taken some far-reaching measures to absorb the cuts and to maintain the quality of their programs. Even so, for many departments it will mean increasing workloads, raising class size, and giving up fundamentals – even telephones.
Despite unprecedented layoffs administrators sought to hold on to popular programs in an effort to maintain employee morale.
“We didn’t want to reduce programs that staff feel good about,” said Sandra Russell, associate vice president for human resources. Russell said her department made some sacrifices to preserve annual events such as the staff and faculty service luncheons and the President’s Recognition Program for staff. “It would be the wrong time to take away those kinds of things. We did not think that eliminating them would be a smart decision.”
In addition to several layoffs, Russell said, human resources will close the UHR Training Center in the Livingston Campus trailers and relocate it at the new Administrative Services Building on Route 1. That move will save about $50,000 annually, Russell said.
The School of Arts and Sciences in New Brunswick significantly reduced its budget for part-time lecturers and annual faculty, resulting in about 100 course sections being cut over the fiscal year, according to Michael Beals, dean for educational initiatives at the school. Many of the classes were “pre-canceled” in anticipation of the budget cuts, meaning students never got to register for them. Beals said that the School of Arts and Sciences should see few classes canceled outright. Students whose course sections were canceled have been notified via their MyRutgers homepages.
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The impact of the state budget
Credit: Nick Romanenko
Instructional budgets took a big hit when realities of the state budget cuts set in. Reductions in teaching staff mean students have fewer courses to choose from and larger class sizes; part-time lecturers and faculty have more work; and many students might not have basics, such as blue books for taking exams.
The state budget adopted in July left Rutgers with a $66 million shortfall in state funding, the largest in university history. Other mandatory cost increases took the budget shortfall to $80 million. The result thus far is the cancellation of approximately 450 course sections, the phasing out of six intercollegiate varsity sports, 185 layoffs or eliminated positions, and a reduction in services and delayed improvements to campus facilities.
The board also established tuition, fee, and room and board rates for the 2006-2007 academic year. Total charges for a typical in-state undergraduate student living on campus will rise by 6.7 percent. Tuition for most in-state undergraduates will increase 8 percent, to $7,923 for the coming year. Out-of-state tuition will rise 10 percent. Due to inadequate state funding, tuition at Rutgers has increased more than 65 percent since fiscal year 2000.
“The board would have preferred to keep the increase in tuition lower than the 8 percent that most undergraduates will see,” board chairman Albert R. Gamper said. “However, the severity of the cuts in state funding means that tuition increases are necessary to protect academic programs and student services from even more serious cuts.”
Departments across Rutgers have taken some far-reaching measures to absorb the cuts and to maintain the quality of their programs. Even so, for many departments it will mean increasing workloads, raising class size, and giving up fundamentals – even telephones.
Despite unprecedented layoffs administrators sought to hold on to popular programs in an effort to maintain employee morale.
“We didn’t want to reduce programs that staff feel good about,” said Sandra Russell, associate vice president for human resources. Russell said her department made some sacrifices to preserve annual events such as the staff and faculty service luncheons and the President’s Recognition Program for staff. “It would be the wrong time to take away those kinds of things. We did not think that eliminating them would be a smart decision.”
In addition to several layoffs, Russell said, human resources will close the UHR Training Center in the Livingston Campus trailers and relocate it at the new Administrative Services Building on Route 1. That move will save about $50,000 annually, Russell said.
The School of Arts and Sciences in New Brunswick significantly reduced its budget for part-time lecturers and annual faculty, resulting in about 100 course sections being cut over the fiscal year, according to Michael Beals, dean for educational initiatives at the school. Many of the classes were “pre-canceled” in anticipation of the budget cuts, meaning students never got to register for them. Beals said that the School of Arts and Sciences should see few classes canceled outright. Students whose course sections were canceled have been notified via their MyRutgers homepages.
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