With a new round of higher education budget cuts on the horizon,University of Memphis students can expect tuition and class sizesto increase while the number of part-time professors declines.
The Tennessee Board of Regents "is asking us to outline whatwould happen if we are asked to cut our budget by 5 percent," saidRalph Faudree, U of M provost. "We do not have a precise date as towhen any cuts will take place. No one can say where cuts willbe."
TBR has asked all the institutions it governs, including The Uof M, to submit plans outlining what programs or budget areasofficials would cut and how the cuts would affect the institution.The speculation is based on the possibility of a 5 percentreduction for the 2004 fiscal year, which begins in July.
The 5 percent TBR is considering cutting from each institution'sbudget is a result of a 5 percent reduction in state appropriationsmandated by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen earlier this year.
For The U of M, a 5 percent budget cut would mean approximately$5 million. However, officials are reluctant to say what areas ofThe U of M would be hardest hit.
"Cuts will come from all sides," Faudree said. "What percentagewill come from the academic side is still unknown."
In the past, as an effort to shield students from similar cuts,U of M officials have slashed the non-academic side of the school'sbudget to the bone. Routine building repairs have been delayed,expenses have been trimmed and vacant faculty and staff positionshave remained unfilled as part of The University's effort to do aslittle harm to its academic programs as possible, officialssaid.
Nevertheless, many academic administrators said they expect thisnext round of cuts to hit at the heart of The U of M's academicprograms.
"The fact is, there is nothing left to cut," said James Redmond,journalism department chair.
Like many department chairs, Redmond has found several creativeways to cut spending in his department as a means of protectingstudents.
"This semester, we put all our syllabi online to cut down oncopying costs," Redmond said. "There are some economies of scalethat can be implemented, but this can only go so far."
And considering all U of M departments have had to slice apercentage of their part-time faculty budgets for the second halfof the current fiscal year, additional cuts could mean morelay-offs for part-time faculty in the fall.
"There will be fewer adjunct professors teaching in the spring"in the art department, said James Jackson, art department chair."We found out early this semester that our part-time faculty budgetwould be cut."
Cutting the number of part-time faculty also means reducing thenumber of course sections offered to students, Jackson said.Although Jackson and other department chairs have tried mergingclasses by doubling class sizes as a means of serving the samenumber of students per semester, many say they have run intoproblems because some classes don't convert from a discussionsetting to lecture setting well.
In addition, many accrediting bodies prohibit large class sizesfor computer-centered courses. As a result, there could be fewerclasses offered this spring and in fall 2004.
Compounding The University's budget woes is a proposed mandatoryfaculty raise for all TBR institutions. Like the possible 5 percentbudget cut, TBR has yet to give The U of M any officialnotification on whether the raise will be required and by howmuch.
Because the raise will not be covered in the 5 percent cutalready on the table, The U of M will have to find that money inaddition to cutting the proposed $5 million.
However, University officials insist they will do all they canto shield students.
"Any cuts will be reflective of the size of the (academicdepartment)," Faudree said. "We are looking at which programs, ifcut, will have the least impact on the students. The students areour greatest concern."
