Our Challenge
The University of Nebraska is not immune to the headwinds facing colleges and universities across the country.
On the spending side, inflation is putting intense pressure on our operating and payroll costs. Meanwhile, two consecutive years of enrollment declines have resulted in lower revenues than we projected, and while we are grateful for the steady partnership of the Governor and Legislature, growth in state funding will be muted for the foreseeable future.
Assuming a 3.5 percent tuition increase for the 2023-24 academic year, we project the University of Nebraska will face a $58 million shortfall by the end of the biennium. Unfortunately, that figure will grow in future years as costs continue to rise more quickly than new dollars coming in.
More troubling, as President Carter has laid out, is that figure represents only what it would take to maintain the status quo – in other words, it assumes no new investments in strategic priorities like faculty salaries, world-class research programs, student mental health, or other opportunities.
Our Opportunity
We may not be alone in facing these challenges, but President Carter has challenged us to separate ourselves in how we respond.
Help is not coming from the outside. We should not expect significant growth in state appropriations. We will not use tuition increases to balance our budget. And while our cash reserves can help us in the short term, cash is not a responsible or sustainable long-term solution.
Therefore, we must look inward to determine how to deploy our limited resources in ways that will ensure a competitive, collaborative, accessible and highly efficient university that the Board of Regents and all Nebraskans expect and deserve.
Our Task
On May 31, the Board of Regents held a special meeting to review our fiscal planning.
As President Carter reviewed with the Board, historically we have taken a “peanut butter” approach to budget reductions, assigning a proportional cut to each campus and asking all units to take their share.
The Board has asked for a different approach going forward – one that will not weaken the university across the board, but instead sets priorities and invests accordingly. While this approach necessarily involves hard conversations, with a relentless focus on our mission and priorities we can become more competitive in areas like enrollment, research and faculty salaries.
Board Chairman Tim Clare has tasked President Carter with bringing forward a plan that addresses the various challenges we face. Chairman Clare set the following parameters for Carter’s plan:
- The plan should include vertical, not horizontal “peanut butter” cuts. All options should be on the table, including structural change.
- The plan should be university-wide, involving all campuses.
- The plan should include strategies to address areas where we to improve, including enrollment, faculty salary competitiveness, and federal research growth.
