Our Liberal Friends in Missoula are feeling the pinch

Source:

http://flatheadbeacon.com/2016...ana-fall-enrollment/

The fall headcount at UM is 10,329 students, down from 10,999 last fall and down 22 percent since 2010.

Source:

http://missoulian.com/news/loc...19-ede3838a6a65.html

The University of Montana is hammering out options to offer buyouts or early retirement to 80 to 100 employees, primarily longtime faculty, a state higher education official confirmed Wednesday.

UM employs 631 faculty FTE, or full time equivalents, from its general fund, said Kevin McRae, spokesman for the Montana Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education (OCHE). A decrease of 100 would represent a nearly 16 percent reduction; that drop would not include faculty paid for from research dollars.

If approved, a $2 million appropriation that's pending in the Montana Legislature would pay for "faculty termination costs" such as sick leave, which can cost UM $25,000 in a lump sum for just one retiring employee, McRae said.

"I can confirm the $2 million appropriation for faculty termination costs came about through cooperative negotiation between the Governor, Legislature and OCHE," McRae said in an email.

"The MUS (Montana University System) is grateful to the joint budget conference committee that first approved it, grateful to the Senate for passing it, and very grateful that the House will consider it later this week."

It's too early to know how much money UM would save if it is able to successfully offer buyouts to 100 faculty, McRae said.

However, McRae also said the goal is to create offers that are a win-win-win. He said the wins would be for UM's budget; for the senior faculty members who were thinking about retiring and have incentives to do so earlier; and for the junior faculty members who stay on board with a strong career ahead.

The budget for the 2017-2018 school year is built around the current level of faculty, he said. The goal is to make offers in the next school year and recognizing savings in the following school year, or the 2019 fiscal year.

"What we're trying to do is see if we could make this work without actually having to talk about layoffs," McRae said.

Academia is the sacred cow that never seems to feel the pinch of State budget issues. Way back, State workers took 3% pay CUTS. But, U of M and MSU did NOT. With some staff actually getting raises.

I will believe it when it actually happens.

from the article: "He also notes the campus, dorms and classrooms aren’t overcrowded."

Maybe the college is being involuntarily right-sized. This is no longer the baby boom with every classroom filled, three to a dorm room & packed classrooms because they have to be.

Maybe faculty should think through whether just not being 'overcrowded' is enough and they could be headed for not being crowded at all and embrace it.

.....maybe teach something meaningful at a reasonable cost & there would be more consumers of the product....

The students and faculty are figuring out that there isn't an endless supply of money.

A few weeks back there was a letter to the editor from an art major undergrad whining about MUS budget cuts and that she'd be forced to pay an extra $2K/year for her degree. Cry me a river. Perhaps she should have considered that prior to pursuing a useless degree.

Going keep bringing it up: get colleges to co-sign student loans.

only 6800 students there when I attended

A bit of research reveals that Montana State is stable to a small increase in enrollment over the same period of time. Any theories put forth for UM's dramatic decline?

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
A bit of research reveals that Montana State is stable to a small increase in enrollment over the same period of time. Any theories put forth for UM's dramatic decline?

Multiple sex crimes on campus doesn't help, nor did the NCAA sanctioning.