news-record.com

GREENSBORO — Days into the start of classes for UNC students, and the fears of $414 million in cuts to the university system have been realized.

Nearly all of the system’s 17 campuses have reported fewer faculty members and fewer classes, UNC President Tom Ross said. Instructors are teaching more courses and students.

Ross said the campuses are managing because of good planning by chancellors, whom he warned in December to prepare for the worst.
Still, he said, these serious cuts have the system reconsidering the way it does business.

UNC’s priorities remain the same, he said: to provide the highest quality education, the best faculty in the classroom, and research that enhances learning and spurs economic activity.

“Our mission is clear, and it is not changing,” Ross said. “There are going to be shifts in the way we do things. We’re already seeing that, where we’re going to have to be more efficient.”

One way in which the system is trying to reduce costs is to look at the programs it offers on its campuses.

The UNC governing board will soon get recommendations on how to proceed with eliminating or consolidating some of its academic programs, an effort Ross announced within days of starting as president.

Ross said he expects one of the recommendations will be to cut programs where there is not what he called a substantial demand.

But Ross said he’d like to see more collaboration among the campuses than cutting. Combining programs would reduce costs, but not the opportunities available to students.

“We’re going to have to do a whole lot more partnering between institutions,” he said, which includes looking for ways to centralize operational services so money can be redirected to academics.

For example, as a way of managing cuts on its campus, the UNC School of the Arts now contracts with Winston-Salem State to perform its internal audits.

As for academic programs, Ross said the system will have to rely more on technology to reach students.

He wants to see an increase in online programs that let students earn credits across the system, reducing the need to develop online programs on every campus.

Enrollment cap?

Whether putting a cap on campus enrollment will factor into how the UNC system controls its costs remains to be seen, but Ross hopes it doesn’t come to that.

He doesn’t like the idea of telling students who have worked hard and done well in school that there’s not a place for them at one of the UNC campuses.

“I’m sure there will be some discussion of limiting enrollment, but I hope that it’s not something that we have to do formally,” he said.

But, informally, it is already happening.

The system, over time, is increasing its admission standards —  a way of using financial resources wisely while making sure campuses are admitting students who are in a good place to be successful, Ross said.

Both UNCG and N.C. A&T raised minimum admissions standards this year; UNCG’s provost said earlier this month that it contributed to a drop in the university’s freshman numbers.

Cuts in state and federal aid are also making it harder for some students to finish their education.

Ross said campuses have reported that some students who didn’t return have cited financial circumstances as the reason.

'Still a model’

The system has lost more than $1 billion over the past five years.

Ross said he worries the larger classes mean students are getting less attention, that some needs are not being met at the registrar and financial aid offices, and that universities are not able to do as much work in the community.

But what he doesn’t want parents to worry about is whether their child will get a great education.

The UNC system is still held up as a model for many states, Ross said.

“The University of North Carolina remains — if not the premier — certainly one of the very top university systems in America.”

Contact Jonnelle Davis at 373-7080 or jonnelle.davis@news-record.com