Steady enrollment brings stability to MVNU budget

Faculty and staff are rejoicing with the reinstatement of a former 2 percent pay cut.

In 2014, facing a financial crisis, MVNU administrators implemented a plan that would eliminate over $3 million from the budget by 2017.

Because a large portion of the budget goes toward payroll, campus officials said there was no way to escape staff or salary cuts.

The plan called for terminating 50 faculty and staff positions through a combination of retirements, resignations and terminations. In addition, all faculty and staff took a pay cut of 2 percent.

Without the measures, the University was projecting a $7.4 million deficit in 2017.

Campus officials said the budget crisis was caused by a drop in revenue directly related to a decrease in traditional and graduate enrollment.

“When the enrollment [both traditional and GPS] began to slide, our projections showed that revenues would decline by $4 million to $5 million,” Vice President for Finance Dr. Robert Hamill said.

According to Hamill, 92 percent of the 2016-17 budget comes from tuition and room and board fees. Since traditional student enrollment has recovered in the past two years and GPS enrollment is now reaching stability, the University’s finances are beginning to level as well. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] [endif]

The previous salary reduction was fully reinstated in October of this year, and the University hopes to continue to see growth in enrollment, and therefore the budget.

“We are operating with a small surplus and anticipate strengthening our revenue stream and controlling expenses,” University President Dr. Henry Spaulding said. “We have turned the corner and are heading in the right direction”.