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OSU committed to academics despite budget cuts
$19.4 million of one-time funds to be reallocated on Columbus campus
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio State University is maintaining its commitment to advancing academic priorities even as the university responds to the state’s 6 percent cut to higher education funding for Fiscal Year 2002.
The university’s Board of Trustees on Friday (Nov. 2) approved reallocation of one-time funds totaling $19.4 million on the Columbus campus, reflecting the loss of the state share of instruction on the main campus alone. The board also authorized additional line-item cuts – to a range of items that include programs rewarding external research funding success and increased student retention rates, and state support for medical education, for example – to meet the $28.2 million reduction in current-year funding for all of Ohio State’s campuses.
“This initial budget adjustment to respond to the state’s revenue shortfall, combined with the plans we are putting in place for the next several years to redirect internal resources so we can offer more competitive faculty and staff compensation, represent a substantial challenge for the university,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Edward J. Ray. “But we know we can and must do this. Ohio State has already made significant reallocations to support our academic priorities from a resource base that is significantly below that of competing institutions in other states. As difficult as it will be, it is necessary if the university and the state of Ohio are going to compete successfully in the years ahead. Continuing to move forward even in a time of financial stress is critical to our success in meeting our land-grant responsibility of helping to secure a better future for the people of Ohio.”
In Columbus, administrators are achieving the financial recovery by tapping the university’s Rainy Day fund for $5 million, redirecting $6 million from central budgets, and identifying the remaining $8.4 million by asking support units to cut 2 percent from their General Funds budgets and the university’s 18 colleges to reduce their General Funds budgets by 1.25 percent. Support units include the offices of the President, Academic Affairs, Business and Finance, Development, Research, Legal Affairs, Student Affairs, University Relations, Health Sciences Administration and Agricultural Administration.
The university’s four regional campuses and the Agricultural Technical Institute/Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster will contribute a combined $3.9 million, and all other line item-funded units will be reduced by a total of $4.9 million.
Senior Vice President for Business and Finance William J. Shkurti told trustees that under the reallocation, student financial aid distributions will be protected. He also noted that the university is using one-time funds, or cash, to correct the immediate budget problem.
“The redirected funds we’ve identified are one-time funds only and will get us through this year. We know we will have to identify additional continuing funds for next year, and we will do so through the plans that we have called for from colleges and support units. But we believe that, given the problem we face, this is the least destructive approach to take to meet the budget demands for Fiscal Year 2002 for the University. Permanent reductions will need to be addressed as part of Fiscal Year 2003 budget planning,” Shkurti said. “And this plan addresses only the current reductions announced by Gov. Taft. If additional reductions in state support are implemented, additional corrective action will be necessary.”
The $28 million cut, arriving in the middle of the fiscal year, is equal to the payroll and benefits costs of between 500 and 600 full-time positions across all Ohio State campuses on an annualized basis, Shkurti said. Those overseeing budget adjustments that result in a reduction in personnel are being encouraged to achieve those reductions through voluntary separations or by leaving vacant positions unfilled.
Even as the university is forced to reduce its budget mid-year, Ohio State officials note that three specific priorities from the university’s Academic Plan have been identified to move forward – largely because funding resources are available for them. They are a series of enhancements to undergraduate programs through use of tuition funds this academic year that exceeded the historic 6 percent cap; a major biomedical research initiative, drawing in part upon Tobacco Settlement funds; and creation of an Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in the Americas, using funds earmarked last year. In addition, the administration has pledged that enhanced compensation for faculty and staff remains a No. 1 funding priority for the next several years.
Trustees will be asked to adjust FY 2002 resources and expenditures to reflect specific changes at the board’s December meeting, when the first-quarter budget report is completed.
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