Campus belts tighten

EMU's student body and faculty alike may soon feel the effects of what the administration is calling the "tightening of our belts."

In a memo concerning the budget guidelines for 2003-2005 from last October's meeting of the President's Cabinet there were factors listed as being contributors to the negative budget outcomes of recent years. The inability to achieve budgeted contributions, the projected enrollment of students, and the national economic downturn were the main components that have affected decisions regarding the budget.

From the same document it was suggested that a 5 percent to 7 percent increase in undergraduate tuition be implemented, a suggestion that has hit hard the pockets of EMU's students since 2000. There has been a $3,000 increase in the cost to attend the university in the past three years.

It's not just students that are feeling the effects of the tightened budget. Vice President for Finance Ron Piper sent out a memo in February that dealt with, in part, employee benefits and salaries. The memo mentioned a proposal suggesting that EMU discontinue its policy of covering half of employees' spouses' medical insurance. That coverage would be made up in a wage adjustment of around $1,300 per year. Other suggestions for adjustments that had been proposed at earlier meetings and mentioned in Piper's memo included "eliminating health care, tuition, and life insurance benefits for [people] employed below three-quarters time." These proposals were rejected by the Strategic Planning Council.

The guidelines set for the budget include a 5 percent decrease in expenditures, which comes out to approximately $1.2 million for this year. This reduction makes it possible to increase financial aid from 29 percent to 31 percent and raise the "budget cushion" from 1 percent to 2 percent. The President's Cabinet memo suggests that "cuts should not be done across the board but should be done strategically."

In a January budget proposal Interim President Beryl Brubaker said that one must "consider the importance of a program in terms of our mission, and then eliminate or downsize programs that do the least harm to achieving our mission."

The programs that were mentioned included the historical library, the Intensive English Program (IEP), the guest house, and the performing arts series. There was also mention of whether or not German should be eliminated from the curriculum. Another suggestion relating to the language department was whether language assistants should be hired locally instead of from abroad to cut costs.

In Brubaker's proposal it was suggested that certain programs that had less impact on the school be temporarily cut, such as administrative travel, campus entertainment costs, the number of athletic events, and the information office hours among other things. The Honors Program may also suffer as current proposals suggest fewer students and fewer special courses.

Piper's view of the budget situation was articulated when he said, "I believe that the greatest vulnerabilities in the budget are enrollment and contributions ... The addition of 1 percent to the '[budget] cushion' is a concession to uncertainty in these areas."

While few academic programs have been affected at this time, other programs that the EMU community has come to recognize as standard may be reduced or even eliminated. Everyone involved at Eastern Mennonite University will likely feel the effects of the new guidelines as this year continues.