Different departments at Binghamton University have begun to feel the pressure of the $96.3 million budget cut made this year by the state governor and legislature.
According to Dr. Michael McGoff, acting vice president for administration at BU, the State University of New York system has already gone through one round of cuts, and is now being asked to reduce their spending even more.
Most schools are being asked to help absorb up to $70 million of the cut. This has left SUNY administrations scrambling to make up for the drastic budget cuts.
McGoff said possible actions to reduce spending across the various SUNY campuses could include gradually increasing tuition each year, and making larger but fewer classes. Limiting the numbers of students admitted into universities has also been discussed.
“These are very challenging economic times for New York state and there are indications that these fiscal challenges likely will affect the state budget for the next several years,” McGoff said.
The University has not been given the exact reduction amount at this time, so administration members have not decided what amenities are going to be cut, McGoff said. But in a budget update notification released in June, President Lois B. DeFleur announced that the University will face a reduction of slightly more than $2.3 million.
All SUNY campuses will be limiting staff numbers.
“All state agencies, including SUNY, have been asked to reduce spending and hiring in order to control state spending,” he said.
McGoff said that BU tries to be cooperative with the state and helpful with the distribution of its financial support.
“Binghamton University continues to be good stewards of state funding,” McGoff said. “We work hard to be innovative and entrepreneurial by instituting creative management and efficient operations.”
BU’s academic reputation is of top importance, McGoff said, and the University does not want to take away anything that will jeopardize its prestigious standing.
“Our first priority is to protect the quality of our academic programs and that is why during the first round of cuts, the percentage reduction for the Division of Academic Affairs was lower than that of the other divisions,” he said.
Elizabeth Carter, the director of the Discovery Program, said she is feeling the pressure as well.
According to Carter, her department now has to decide what can be cut that won’t hurt the students.
One of the amenities offered by the Discovery Program is free tutoring for students, and the program had to be adjusted this semester because of the budget reduction.
“When we were asked to make the cut, we looked for ways that would minimize the impact,” Carter said. “For instance, rather than cut the walk-in tutoring services that we offer, we have scaled back on by-appointment tutoring.”
While SUNY and the state may continue to face budget problems over the next few years, McGoff said the University is doing its best to work with the budget cuts.
“We are working hard to ensure that we continue to provide the kind of high quality education New Yorkers have come to expect from Binghamton University,” he said.