{"id":138681,"date":"2018-06-11T17:10:55","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T21:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=138681"},"modified":"2018-06-12T12:04:43","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T16:04:43","slug":"uconn-faces-challenges-determining-fy19-budgets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2018\/06\/uconn-faces-challenges-determining-fy19-budgets\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn Faces Challenges in Setting FY19 Budgets"},"content":{"rendered":"

With continued reductions in state financial support and rising fringe benefit costs, UConn\u2019s proposed new FY19 budget represents a delicate balance of seeking efficiencies while working to protect the University\u2019s academic mission, officials say.<\/p>\n

Members of the UConn Board of Trustees\u2019 financial affairs committee got an advance look<\/a> Monday at the proposed FY19 budgets for Storrs, the regional campuses, and UConn Health, and the full board will vote on them on June 27.<\/p>\n

The total FY19 budget of $2.4 billion is comprised of $1.36 billion for UConn Storrs and the regional campuses, and $1.04 billion for UConn Health, including John Dempsey Hospital and the schools of medicine and dental medicine.<\/p>\n

Although budget officials were able to balance both spending plan proposals through a series of efficiencies and other moves, they warned that the next two years look more difficult as UConn continues to absorb factors it can\u2019t control.<\/p>\n

They include the unpredictability of state financial support and fringe benefit costs, the latter of which is substantially increased by the state\u2019s effort to cover its unfunded pension liabilities statewide. The budget is also affected significantly this year by the requirement to fund pay raises in FY20 and FY21 under a statewide agreement with labor unions, and the clause in that agreement that prevents cost savings through layoffs.<\/p>\n

The University\u2019s overriding goal is to continue to protect and build UConn\u2019s academic strength, which draws talented students and faculty, helps foster economic development for the state, and has helped propel it to No. 18 among the nation\u2019s top public colleges and universities, as measured by the U.S. News & World Report<\/em> annual ranking.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is remarkable how far we\u2019ve come and what an asset we are to the state of Connecticut,\u201d Scott Jordan, UConn\u2019s chief financial officer and executive vice president for administration, told members of the finance board at Monday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n

UConn contributes $3.4 billion annually<\/a> to the state\u2019s economy, employing one out of every 90 jobs in the state, Jordan said. UConn\u2019s success provides direct, tangible returns to the state for the investment it\u2019s made in the University\u2019s academics and campuses.<\/p>\n

But, Jordan warned, the past several years of unavoidable cost-cutting are already being felt in departments, schools, and colleges. Some have said they\u2019re struggling to avoid a decrease in graduate student enrollment, which is especially worrisome because the strength of Ph.D. programs and other graduate education is critical to a school\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a little thing when you say a department can\u2019t take more doctoral students; they can start to fall off the map academically,\u201d President Susan Herbst said. \u201cAs departments can no longer take graduate students, we can expect our reputation to decline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being forced to cut too deeply into the academic enterprise also puts UConn at risk of losing talented students and faculty to other institutions, being forced to charge more in tuition and fees to offset declining state support, increasing class sizes, and cutting student services and staff.<\/p>\n

Some specifics presented at Monday\u2019s workshop also show that:<\/p>\n