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Subject: Weekly Briefing: This public college wanted growth. It's getting cuts.
How did this public university get here?
Illustration by The Chronicle; Image from Library of Congress, Wikipedia Commons
Last week, West Virginia University recommended 32 programs for elimination — 12 undergraduate majors and 20 graduate programs. This plan could affect as many as 169 faculty members. The potential cuts are part of an effort to get a handle on the $45-million deficit for the 2024 fiscal year that could balloon to $75 million by 2028 if left unchecked, administrators say.
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How did this public university get here?
Illustration by The Chronicle; Image from Library of Congress, Wikipedia Commons
Last week, West Virginia University recommended 32 programs for elimination — 12 undergraduate majors and 20 graduate programs. This plan could affect as many as 169 faculty members. The potential cuts are part of an effort to get a handle on the $45-million deficit for the 2024 fiscal year that could balloon to $75 million by 2028 if left unchecked, administrators say.
University leaders added that WVU needs to right-size before it runs into the so-called demographic cliff, an anticipated sharp decline in the number of high-school graduates.
If you were paying attention to WVU a few years ago, you’ll remember a different narrative, one focused on growth. E. Gordon Gee, the university’s president, promised that WVU’s main campus and its sister campuses would enroll 40,000 students by 2020 — that’s 20-percent growth in three years. Today the campus has not only fallen short of that goal but is anticipating enrollment declines.
How did a public flagship university get here? The situation can be attributed to several factors. Some are specific to WVU, and others are evident at campuses across the country — like the pandemic, declines in state appropriations, changes in student demographics, debt-spending on buildings, and big bets on enrollment growth that haven’t materialized.
WVU’s current budget problems started with the Great Recession. State appropriations fell by $7.3 million from the 2008 to 2009 fiscal years. They continued to drop. From the 2013 to 2022 fiscal years, state appropriations declined by nearly 36 percent.
In 2010, university leaders planned to build up the institution’s finances by increasing enrollment and investing in other revenue-generating operations. The growth plan relied on recruiting students from outside the state and country, a competitive market. WVU also had to deal with a declining number of in-state high-school graduates. Though there was early success, out-of-state recruitment didn’t deliver as hoped. Out-of-state students at the main campus remained at about 12,000 a year.
After Gee was named president in 2014, he doubled down on growth. The main campus went on a building and renovation spree.
As the institution’s ambitions expanded, so did its debt. From the 2006 to the 2011 fiscal years, the annual inflation-adjusted costs associated with the issuance and servicing of WVU’s debt ranged from $21 million to $26 million. After 2011, those debt-related costs only grew.
When the pandemic hit, federal aid could only help so much. At one point WVU limited overtime pay, paused hiring, and temporarily reduced its labor force.
Today, the university faces a $45-million deficit and sharp cuts. During an interview in June, Gee told the Chronicle that if it were not for the pandemic, WVU would have met its 40,000 enrollment goal.
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