October Brings Deep Cuts at Several Campuses

October brought deep cuts at several universities grappling with budget deficits.

Other institutions made smaller, more targeted cuts, or implemented hiring freezes and program reviews. Some blamed slipping state support and enrollment woes; several universities missed admissions goals by a wide margin, prompting cuts to ease deficits.

Here’s a look at cuts announced across the sector last month.

Portland State University

Reeling from an estimated $18 million budget deficit, Portland State University sent out layoff notices to nearly 100 non-tenure-track faculty members, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

“Portland State University’s structural deficit requires us to make difficult trade-offs this year in order to fulfill our mission,” a Portland State spokesperson wrote in a statement. “Potential layoffs are one part of a comprehensive financial sustainability plan that includes a process of academic program revitalization, curricular stewardship, administrative operational adjustments, a focus on revenue growth opportunities and retirement incentives.”

The proposed layoffs come in what has been a turbulent year for Portland State, which is navigating enrollment challenges and was beset by pro-Palestinian protests in the spring, including a four-day occupation of the university’s library, which cost an estimated $1.2 million to repair.

St. Louis University

St. Louis University has eliminated 23 positions and frozen hiring for 130 vacancies as it seeks to shrink its expenses for fiscal year 2025 by $20 million, The St. Louis-Post Dispatch reported. Though no current faculty members were laid off, 30 faculty positions are among those frozen.

The university will also seek another $40 million in cost savings over the next two years.

Administrators previously told St. Louis Public Radio that SLU is facing a budget deficit after it sought to enroll 1,300 new international graduate students this fall but only landed about 300. Officials blamed the gap on the U.S. government issuing fewer visas to international grad applicants this year. Increased financial aid and faculty research investments also played a role in swelling SLU’s budget deficit, STLPR reported.

More cuts are likely on the horizon; in an Oct. 11 message to campus, officials wrote, “Ultimately, we will become an organization with fewer faculty and staff.”

Western Washington University

In an effort to shave $18 million from its budget, the public university in Bellingham announced initial cuts, with more expected to come next year, My Bellingham Now reported.

So far the university has eliminated 25 jobs, 20 of which were vacant, according to WWU. Another 30 positions are expected to be cut in the 2025–26 academic year.

A restructuring effort is also underway.

“WWU’s budget challenges are due to lingering [coronavirus] pandemic revenue shortfalls, as smaller class sizes work through the system, in addition to insufficient state funding, cost-of-living increases, and higher costs of goods and services,” officials wrote in a statement.

Elizabethtown College

The private institution in Pennsylvania plans to cut 13 full-time faculty positions and drop several majors as part of cost-cutting measures, LancasterOnline reported.

Majors affected include the fine arts, sociology and Spanish.

“The focus of planning for Elizabethtown College’s sustained fiscal health and well-being is the top priority,” Keri Straub, the vice president for enrollment management, marketing and communications, wrote in a statement to the news outlet addressing the cuts.

Officials noted challenges brought on by evolving student interests and shifting demographics.

Brandeis University

After announcing budget and job cuts earlier this year, the private institution outside Boston is making more changes: Officials opted not to renew the contracts of the long-running Lydian String Quartet, which has called Brandeis home since 1980, The Boston Globe reported.

The group received notice in a Zoom meeting on Oct. 1 that the university would not keep them beyond the 2024–25 academic year. Housed in the music department, the quartet has released various albums over the years while its members have served in faculty roles.

The move is expected to save $275,000 a year.

Earlier this year, Brandeis announced it would cut dozens of positions due to an estimated $2 million budget gap. That decision, among others, prompted a faculty no-confidence vote in President Ron Liebowitz, who stepped down on Nov. 1 after leading Brandeis since 2016.

University of Connecticut

A sweeping program review is underway at the flagship in Storrs, where administrators are weighing the future of nearly 250 underenrolled programs, according to local media reports.

Fox 61 reported that 70 majors, 72 master’s degrees, 76 graduate certificates and 27 doctoral programs were included in the program review announced in mid-October. Low-enrollment majors include philosophy, art, music and social work, among other disciplines.

The program review comes amid an estimated $70 million shortfall for fiscal year 2025.

“Given the budget situation of the university, evaluation of low-enrollment/completion programs is essential to ensure that we maintain the right balance of programs to support our institutional mission, standards of accreditation, and to meet the needs of our students, in addition to being common sense academic ‘housekeeping’ the university should engage in on a regular basis,” University of Connecticut president Radenka Maric and provost Anne D’Alleva wrote to faculty last month. “Programs do close and change over time—if we look at university catalogs from ten, twenty, thirty years ago and more, we’ll see numerous majors that we no longer offer.”

Officials are expected to present proposed cuts to the UConn Board of Trustees in December.

Sonoma State University

Sonoma State University has implemented a hiring freeze and suspended travel and nonessential purchases amid an estimated $21 million budget deficit, The Sonoma Index-Tribune reported.

The hiring freeze is expected to save the university about $5 million.