August Cuts to Start the Academic Year

With new fiscal and academic years underway, only a small number of colleges announced layoffs, buyouts and related staffing moves last month, though a couple enacted significant cuts.

Even the rich weren’t immune to layoffs; Harvard University cut more than 100 jobs in August, following layoffs in July as well. Elsewhere, colleges enacted smaller cuts, hiring freezes and voluntary separation programs to address budget gaps attributed to declining enrollments and rising operating costs.

Harvard University

The nation’s wealthiest institution laid off at least 100 employees in a wave of August cuts, concluding a monthslong administrative restructuring of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

The private university cut 165 jobs altogether as part of the restructuring, with 100 of those coming last month, The Harvard Crimson reported. Some employees were offered new or reconfigured roles amid the reorganization, which aims to close a $350 million structural deficit.

Harvard officials wrote in a message to campus that the cuts amounted to “a series of painful decisions, the effects of which will continue to be felt across our community.” Now that layoffs are complete, officials noted some affected employees may take new roles amid the overhaul.

Minnesota State University, Mankato

Grappling with a projected $22 million budget deficit, MSU-Mankato is making dozens of cuts.

The public university plans to shed about 60 faculty and staff jobs in total, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported. While Mankato plans to lay off 17 employees, the majority of the cuts will reportedly come through the elimination of vacant positions and early-retirement incentives.

Mankato President Edward Inch said in a video announcing the cuts that costs have continued to rise while tuition revenue and state support have remained sluggish, necessitating changes to ensure the financial stability of the university. The cuts come ahead of a steep tuition hike: The state system plans to increase tuition by an average of 6.25 percent by next school year.

Baker University

The private university in Kansas completed a round of cuts over the summer that included laying off 21 staff members and freezing hiring for 27 vacant positions, The Baker Orange reported.

President Jody Fournier told the newspaper that the cuts are the result of an analysis that began in the spring and were necessary to balance staffing levels amid declining enrollment and revenues. Beyond the layoffs, Fournier said that he and other administrators also took pay cuts.

Columbia College Chicago

Officials at the private college announced another round of layoffs last month.

“As a part of our continued work to align Columbia’s operating structure with our current enrollment and fiscal realities, we have made additional staff reductions,” President Shantay N. Bolton wrote in an Aug. 21 message to the campus community. “This week, some colleagues were notified that their positions have been eliminated. These actions represent the reductions currently planned and include vacant positions that will not be filled.”

Though Bolton did not specify the number of jobs cut, the United Staff of Columbia College union told The Columbia Chronicle that 14 of its members were among those included in the latest cuts. The college has had several rounds of layoffs in the last two years as administrators seek to plug a persistent budget deficit amid declining enrollment. In May, the college announced that it had paused faculty sabbaticals for a second straight year as part of ongoing cost-cutting efforts.

Officials have said the college’s budget deficit could surpass $40 million.

Northwestern University

In reconfiguring its Program of African Studies, Northwestern cut two staff jobs.

The program will move from the Office of Research to the Office of the Provost, where faculty will continue to conduct research and teach classes, officials told Inside Higher Ed. The program, founded in 1948, will continue to award undergraduate and graduate degrees in African studies.

Officials said the move will “re-energize” the program and “ensure its success going forward.”

Brookdale Community College

Administrators at the New Jersey college announced plans to lay off employees to offset enrollment declines and rising costs, but have not publicly specified how many jobs may be cut.

BCC’s Board of Trustees approved a reduction in force last month. The local Asbury Park Press noted that rising health-care costs are part of the impetus behind the cuts; officials told the newspaper that the cost of employee health benefits jumped $11 million year over year, prompting the college to “make difficult decisions now” to ensure long-term fiscal sustainability.

Heartland Community College

Trustees at the two-year college in Illinois approved a voluntary separation-incentive plan last month that they expect to yield an annual $1.5 million in savings, The Pantagraph reported.

Though 88 employees are eligible, administrators project 30 to 35 will take buyouts.

Officials said at a meeting last month the buyout plan is proactive and intended to respond to long-term challenges on the horizon rather than immediate financial needs. HCC is seeking to reduce personnel costs, which comprise more than 70 percent of operating expenditures.