Budget cuts at LSU

<p>From the front page at Louisiana</a> State University</p>

<p>LSU Submits Mid-Year Budget Reduction, Chancellor Martin Says
University's Tier One Status is at Risk</p>

<p>01/08/2010 07:03 PM
BATON ROUGE – LSU submitted its mid-year budget-reduction plan to the LSU System Office today. In the budget-reduction plan, the university slashed $12.66 million from its operating budget in response to mid-year budget cuts. This brings the total impact on LSU's budget to approximately $43 million in the last 12 months</p>

<p>The rescission was dictated by an $84 million reduction in funds for higher education by the state of Louisiana. Included in the submission are layoffs, position eliminations and the altering of campus services.</p>

<p>Approximately 166 positions will be affected either through elimination of vacant and filled positions or changes in source of funds. These positions include teaching and research/economic development related jobs.</p>

<p>"As the state's Flagship University, these changes are not in the best interest of LSU and the people the university serves," said LSU Chancellor Michael Martin. "Unfortunately, our status as a Tier One institution, a cornerstone of the Flagship Agenda, is at risk as these cuts will clearly impact the scope and quality of LSU's core services."</p>

<p>The mid-year budget-reduction plan was developed by academic and nonacademic units, which submitted their individual budget reductions to the LSU Office of Budget & Planning. These include laying off employees or eliminating vacant positions; eliminating graduate assistantships and undergraduate student positions; reducing or eliminating faculty travel, scientific equipment and technology upgrades.</p>

<p>"We have reduced both jobs and services on the LSU campus to meet this mid-year cut and all indications are there is more to come in 2011," Martin said. "In this round of cuts, a few people lost their jobs, and the elimination of additional vacant positions means a heavier workload on a workforce that is already stressed by previous cuts."</p>

<p>"We had to take this immediate action to address mid-year cuts, but we must quickly look at the larger objective which is to address the long-term financial impact to the university as we face further cuts in the year ahead," Martin said. "We have to look closely at eliminating centers, institutes and academic programs and re-evaluate how we do business."</p>

<p>Among the most significant reductions on campus listed in the mid-year budget reduction includes the cancelation of several required courses, which may result delaying some students' anticipated graduation dates; fewer counselors, leading to a higher counselor-to-student ratio; and cancellation of faculty searches. Many of these budget reduction measures will jeopardize future accreditations for programs and degree offerings.</p>

<p>Unique programs and offerings at LSU will also be affected by the mid-year budget cut. These range from degrees offered to lab space on campus to fulfilling state initiatives, including but not limited to the following:</p>

<p>The College of Engineering's ability to continue educating a majority of the engineering and construction management graduates in Louisiana will be affected. Currently, LSU educates about 56 percent of the state's graduates in those fields. Based on workforce predictions through 2016, there is already a shortfall of 230 engineering and construction management graduates to fill employment needs.
The Securities Markets Analysis Research and Trading, or SMART, Lab in the E. J. Ourso College of Business is at risk of being closed.
The Baton Rouge Region and Louisiana Science and Engineering Fairs will be curtailed, affecting approximately 1,100 Louisiana middle- and high-school students.
The Center for Computation & Technology will alter its strategic plan by dropping important areas to the state such as coastal modeling used to predict storm surges during hurricanes.</p>

<p>Students will see the impacts of the budget reduction in other ways, such as less visiting scholars and guest lecturers; an impact on minority student recruitment through the budget reductions for the Office of Multicultural Affairs and African American Cultural Center; and a smaller Tiger Marching Band.</p>

<p>Visitors to campus may also notice an impact on LSU's buildings and grounds, as the Office of Facility Services was forced to reduce its workforce. The $1.07 million cut to the Facility Services' budget will hinder its ability to maintain LSU's more than 11.3 million square feet found in 250 principle buildings.</p>

<p>While these cuts and future ones will impact the university, LSU will move forward as a mission-oriented institution facing a difficult financial situation. </p>

<p>"These cuts and the cuts we face in the future are damaging," Martin said. "They hurt severely. We will fundamentally and structurally change the university."</p>

<p>Budget cuts suck. These cuts will likely set the Flagship agenda back a good ways, in addition to the economic climate hindering private donations.</p>

<p>It’s a shame that the LA constitution protects most sectors except for higher education and health care, from having their budgets cut. I know there was talk of amending the constitution, but I honestly don’t follow this stuff enough to know if it ever happened.</p>

<p>blieux_monkey, are you still a student at LSU? Would be interested in hearing the scuttlebut on campus about what the resulting impact of these budget cuts might be, and how it might affect on students - e.g., fewer services, fewer instructors, etc.</p>

<p>Looks like tuition hikes are on the horizon as well. Wonder how that will affect TOPS. Had hoped that an ivy educated governor would put more emphasis on education, but it seems that is not the case. Oh, well, as long as we have enough people to change the sheets in the hotels and serve the food at the restaurants, our economy is going to be just fine.</p>

<p>When we visited campus last fall, the student newspaper reported that LSU was likely to initiate a $1000 flagship fee, I think because the university can’t raise tuition without approval from the legislature (?) IMO, this school would still be quite affordable if that were to occur, compared to OOS rates for other state universities (we are in TX).</p>

<p>I think the movement going through now is to allow them to raise the rates without approval. And you are right, we do have affordable state uni tuition. It is thanks to the TOPS system, as Louisiana guarantees instate tuition to qualified students. Once TOPS is done away with, and if the regulation against rate hikes is closed, it will be a fun time for the money men at state unis. I myself am shocked by how expensive public unis are in other parts of the country. Many people there attend private unis that offer decent merit packages, making them more affordable than the state unis.</p>