In a state where most higher education institutions are working to address financial and enrollment challenges, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) faces some of the greatest difficulties of all. UWM's steep enrollment drop has exacerbated the effects of an eight-year tuition freeze and lagging state funding, forcing cuts to faculty,…

In December 2010, the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) staff surveyed public universities in other states to learn how they have dealt with cuts in state funding. All of the institutions CPEC surveyed have increased tuition and or fees at least once in the last two fiscal years, and many project additional increases. All have…

Florida has been one of the states hit hardest by the recent financial crisis. Since 2007, Florida State University (FSU) administration says, the university's budget has been cut by over $38 million. The state budget approved by the legislature on May 8, 2009, requires FSU to make another cut of more than $43 million from the institution's…

While colleges across the nation are coping with the recession, public universities in Florida, a state with finances that resemble a Ponzi scheme, have spent years doing without. The recession hit Florida early, and in a big way. Without an income tax, state government has long depended on property and sales taxes. As real estate and tourism have…

In this article, the author examines the financial crisis on Wall Street which resonates through higher education across the state, and beyond. The economic malaise is taking its toll in places like Rhode Island, where state budget cuts of 17 percent forced colleges to cut class offerings and leave more than 150 positions unfilled. Florida's…

When people talk about the future of public universities, they are usually talking about the flagship state universities. Flagship state universities have greatly increased expenditures in the past decade. The goal of the flagship institutions has been to compete with the best private universities, based on the assumptions that state funds will be…

The economic outlook may be sour for Wall Street's investment banks and for homeowners who took out mortgages they could not really afford, but campus planners and architects say that--so far, at least--colleges' construction plans are largely unaffected by the downturn. Some colleges, in fact, are trying to speed up projects to limit the damage…

When Mary Cullinan became president of Southern Oregon University in September, the 5,000-student public university in the foothills of the Siskiyou Mountains was in dire financial shape. A $4-million shortfall had forced university officials to dip deep into its financial reserves, draining them to perilously low levels. The path back to…

Many public-university administrators are watching from the sidelines as the nation's credit markets seize up, trying to assess the impact on universities' and state bonding agencies' ability to issue debt. Already, California and Massachusetts have asked for federal help to cope with bills because municipal-bond markets remain largely closed.…

Looks at the impact of budgetary problems on the University of Michigan, indicating potential cuts in natural resources (33 percent), art (25 percent), and education (40 percent). Science/engineering departments, however, will benefit from reallocation of funds, since improvements in research equipment has been given a high priority. (JN)

Discusses financial pressures on university athletics departments using the University of Wisconsin (Madison) as an example. A recent state audit noted the UW athletic department's sizable debt, and an internal five-year plan predicts a substantial budgetary increase due to such factors as construction projects. More aggressive fund raising and…

The University of Michigan developed a planning process that takes an aggressive, self-help approach to budgeting. It involves many groups and levels of decision-making in a sometimes painful process that results in increased institutional self-reliance. (MSE)

The University of the District of Columbia's radio station, whose mission was to play jazz and report on local public affairs and whose black audience was the fourth-largest of the nation's public radio outlets, has been sold due to financial problems. Critics are concerned that this and other such sales undermine the core mission of public…

Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York face giant deficits in their state budgets. The financial impact of the 1986 federal tax reform law was underestimated by colleges and income estimates were overly optimistic for 1988 and 1989. Unpopular, new taxes are seen as the way to solve the budget crunch. (MLW)

Describes a study to measure the cumulative financial condition and the financial progress of Pennsylvania's higher education institutions and to develop and refine measures of financial condition. Information covered includes trend consensus, source of financial data, presentation of the analysis, and accomplishments. (MLW)