The University of Oregon is one of four flagship universities to recently announce major budget cuts.
Higher education’s bad budget news continues to spread. While financial deficits at private colleges and regional public institutions have become so common that they’re almost a daily story in the media, budget pressures are now threatening more flagship universities, those large, leading public institutions that have been presumed to be relatively resistant to financial difficulties.
That presumption no longer holds. In the past month alone, four flagship universities have announced multi-million dollar budget deficits, the combination of federal cutbacks to research funding, ongoing enrollment challenges, and rising inflation.
University of Vermont
Last week, University of Vermont officials revealed that the university is facing a $12 million budget deficit, brought about largely by a drop in enrollment. The university is projecting a 15% decrease in incoming freshman for this fall compared to last year, which translates into an overall 7% decrease in undergraduate students.
