From potential academic and faculty cuts at Vermont State University to budget issues at Christian Brothers University, here are the top-line figures from five of our biggest stories this week.
By the numbers
33
The number of full-time faculty members who Vermont State University may lay off as the public college attempts to bridge its budget deficit. The university, recently formed from a merger of three financially struggling colleges, is also looking to cut 10 academic programs.
$35,000
The average financial aid award that Assumption University, a Roman Catholic college in Massachusetts, expects to give students in the coming academic year. For just this year, the university is locking in need- and merit-based awards for students as soon as they’re accepted to make up for the delayed rollout of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.
$4 million
The amount Christian Brothers University, a Roman Catholic college in Tennessee, plans to cut from its operating budget. The college recently declared financial exigency, a status that could clear a path for eliminating tenured faculty.
$30 million
The amount Alabama lawmakers allocated for a new loan program benefiting financially distressed colleges. The initiative might provide a lifeline to Birmingham-Southern College, but little is known about how the private nonprofit college plans to remedy its financial issues or how it would pay back the loan.
18.5%
The share of Ivy League students who in 2021 received Pell Grants, which are often used as a proxy to measure low- or moderate-income status. A recent report from the HEA Group, a higher ed-focused research firm, found that Ivies could increase their share of Pell recipients by 5% by enrolling 682 more of these students.
