University of Montana Faculty Senate discusses ‘death spiral’ of looming budget cuts

"We’re bleeding money and we’re out of students. We’re graduating a big class this year, and unless we replace them we’re at a lower head count next year. So everything has to be on the table." John DeBoer, who chairs the Faculty Senate.

The mood was both gloomy and feisty at a special University of Montana http://www.umt.edu/ Faculty Senate meeting Tuesday night as they discussed how they would address what one professor termed a "death spiral" – the looming potential for severe budget and faculty cuts at UM due to declining enrollment.

In anticipation of a flat budget in fiscal year 2018 and a significantly reduced budget in fiscal year 2019, UM President Sheila Stearns has initiated a program called "Forward 125" to reconcile the 2019 budget for a projected student head count of 11,000 students.

DAVID ERICKSON [email protected]

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/news/local/um-faculty-senate-discusses-death-spiral-of-looming-budget-cuts/article_07113bb4-de1a-57d1-8c31-2fa42777f7d4.html