Coronavirus forces FAMU, state universities to cut budgets

BOG asks FAMU to reduce budget by $10.3 million, with more to come.

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing FAMU and other schools in the State University System to reexamine their budgets, as the state of Florida grapples with how to close a $5.4 billion, and growing, budget deficit.

FAMU’s top brass are in the early stages of the budget cutting process by consulting with  deans as they decide where to trim. In addition to the 8.5 percent ($10.3 million) reduction the Board of Governors (BOG), which oversees Florida’s 12 state universities asked for, FAMU has the added problem of accounting for a 6.3 percent drop in enrollment and the loss in tuition in and fees.

Items on the chopping block include “instruction” related expenses (consolidating academic departments/programs), including reducing or capping enrollment, reducing student financial aid including scholarships, reducing student support, increasing faculty workload, limiting course availability and eliminating or reducing programs “that do not meet strategic aspirations, or do not have the promise to meet strategic aspirations.”

FAMU and other SUS schools are being asked to identify another 10% in possible cuts for the 2021-22 FY.  Those plans would include capping or reducing enrollment to account for reduced faculty, and potentially eliminating academic programs, departments, or colleges.

Without any consideration from the BOG, the deep budget cuts pose a serious threat to FAMU’s ability to maintain or improve on state performance based funding metrics, on which a sizeable chunk of FAMU’s budget is based.