Dive Brief:
- Amid state funding cuts to higher education, California State University, San Bernardino will “need to immediately implement cost-saving measures,” including a review of all staff and management roles, according to university President Tomás Morales.
- The university faces a projected $21 million dollar deficit for the 2024-25 fiscal year, Morales said in a message to campus Wednesday. The California State system as a whole is staring down an estimated $1 billion deficit for the 2025-26 year.
- The university plans to review class sizes along with staffing levels and weigh potential administrative and academic unit consolidation. It will also need to cut travel spending, faculty sabbaticals and equipment and furniture expenses, according to the president.
Dive Insight:
Morales pointed to state cuts to higher education in California when explaining the university’s looming deficit. That includes a roughly 8%, or $397 million, reduction to the California State system’s operating budget for the 2025-26 year.
“Additional cuts and deferrals intended for the CSU budget in the following two years would exacerbate our significant fiscal challenges and further complicate the already difficult cost-savings measures our 23 universities are currently undertaking,” system Chancellor Mildred García said in a July statement.
Morales described a systemwide “budget crisis” that has been “equally devastating” for Cal State San Bernardino. The $21 million deficit hanging over the fiscal year comes even after a tuition increase that is set to provide an extra $3 million in revenue.
While facing state funding cuts, the university has increased its compensation expenses by $16 million in “long-overdue” raises for employees, according to Morales. The university’s increased spending on healthcare contributions and other expenses lifted by inflation have also eaten into the budget.
At the same time that costs have risen, Cal State San Bernardino’s enrollment has declined. Fall headcount dipped by 4.3% to 19,803 students between 2017 and 2022, according to federal data. That puts pressure on tuition revenue amid constrained state funding.
“These are uncharted waters for the CSU and CSUSB, and our campus leadership is fully committed to responding to current challenges collaboratively, equitably and transparently,” Morales said.
He also assured the campus that, regardless of any cost-saving actions the administration takes, the university will “honor all contractual commitments to our faculty and staff.”
Cal State San Bernardino is just one of many higher education institutions making cuts to staff and programming amid cost increases, revenue declines and budget deficits. The University of California Santa Cruz is preparing for layoffs to manage a $107 million deficit.
Outside of California, Wisconsin’s state board of regents approved an August request from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s president to lay off over 30 faculty members as the university winds down a general studies college. And Western Illinois University plans to cut roughly 90 faculty and staff positions in an effort to become more fiscally sustainable.
