Frostburg State University’s Budget Cut: By the Numbers

After being told to expect $8 million in cuts, the University System of Maryland’s budget was cut $40 million. Frostburg State University’s budget was cut by ten percent, or about $1.25 million.

In order to help meet these new budget constraints, FSU increased tuition by two percent. This tuition increase accounted for nearly $300,000 and 20 percent of the budget cuts. The university also enacted several other cost reducing measures, including a hiring freeze.

In an email to faculty and staff, FSU President Jonathan Gibralter also detailed the steps the university will take to meet the reduced budget, stating, “Together, we must curtail expenses, large and small. We can lessen the impact of the reductions by being even more fiscally responsible and cutting costs.”

These budget cut measures include: a hiring freeze, a ban on nonessential faculty travel, a hold on position reclassification requests, a delay for facility renewal projects, a reduction in departmental and division expenditures, and elimination of food-related expenses. In addition, no office or unit may exhaust a budget line. Also, the university pulled money from its fund balance, which is essentially a savings account, to help meet the constraints. Every year, the university puts aside one percent of its budget to go into this fund balance.

Here is a list of the university’s budget cut measures:

Use of Fund Balance: $380,829.

Mid-Year Tuition Increase: $297,822.

Facilities Renewal: $444,032.

Travel Reduction:$25,000.

Marketing: $25,000.

Enrollment Management: $80,000.

Gibralter also established goals for the university in wake of the budget cuts:

“ 1. Frostburg State will maintain a top-notch educational experience for our students.

2. We will prioritize our current faculty, staff and students and strive to minimize the impact on them.

3. The University’s leadership will maintain mission-critical, prioritized expenditures, particularly in the areas of health, safety and educational services.

4. We will work to meet the expectations of our students, our constituents, and our community even with fewer available funds.”

“We do not know if another reduction will be necessary for this year and therefore it is imperative that we spend cautiously in the months ahead,” said Gibralter. “If we collectively conserve our dollars, we can meet our state obligations and minimize the impact on employees, students, and operations.

“While we navigate this budget reduction, communication is critical. Please work with one another to relay information, reduce spending and discuss alternatives to ‘business as usual.’ The Executive Committee will continue to share information with the campus community and monitor the progress toward our reduction target of $1.2 million.”