St. Cloud State University leaders are proposing major budget cuts to programs and faculty to address a budget deficit.
In a meeting with faculty on Monday, SCSU administrators recommended discontinuing 46 of the university’s 136 degree programs, including criminal justice, Spanish, gender and women’s studies, sociology, physics, environmental science and economics.
They also proposed cutting 50 of 85 minor degrees, including African American and American Indian studies. Fifty-seven faculty positions would be cut, or 13 percent of the total.
In an interview Monday evening, acting president Larry Lee said the cuts are necessary to address a structural budget deficit. The university lost $18 million last year and is projected to lose $5.5 million this year — a deficit made smaller by one-time state funding. Without it, SCSU’s net operating loss would have been $15 million, Lee said.
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“We just can’t sustain the operation like that,” he said. “We have to align our expenses with our revenues, so we can continue to provide the type of experience that we’ve provided here for a long time.”
In his email to faculty and staff, Lee said higher education is facing “unprecedented struggles” — student enrollment declines, affordability concerns, a proliferation of higher education alternatives, public perception of college degrees and financial strains, among others.
“These circumstances negatively impact higher education, generally, and St. Cloud State University, specifically,” he wrote.
Lee said the university will focus on its 90 strongest academic programs, in which 90 percent of students are enrolled.
“Students are speaking with their decisions — what programs are growing enrollment or not,” he said. “And we have some programs that just don’t have the enrollment that can support the amount of staffing that we have in that program.”
Students enrolled in the affected programs would still be able to complete their degrees, Lee said.
SCSU had one of its first enrollment increases this year in several years, Lee said, but continues to spend significantly more per year in instructional costs than other universities in the Minnesota State system.
The recommendations aren’t yet final, Lee said. The faculty union will respond to the administration with its comments within the next 10 days.
Lee took over Sunday from President Robbyn Wacker, who stepped down last week, earlier than her planned departure of June 30. She told officials at Minnesota State that decisions about the university’s long-term operations should be made by leaders who will be there to manage the transition.
Degrees in italics have already frozen admissions to their programs
Criminal Justice Studies, BS
Criminal Justice Studies, MS
Gerontology, MS
Health and Physical Education, BS
Physical Education, BS
Rehabilitation Counseling, MS
Cultural Resource Management, MS
English Education, MS
English Studies, MA
Gender and Women’s Studies, BA
Global Studies, BA
History, MA
History, MS
Music Performance, BMUS
Music Teaching, BS (K-12)
Music Therapy, BS (not launched)
Music, BA
Sociology, BA
Spanish, BS
Studio Art, BFA
Writing Studies and Rhetoric, MA
Child and Family Studies: Family Studies, MS
Early Childhood Special Education, MS
Educational Administration and Leadership, SPEC
Educational Leadership and Technology, MS
Social Studies Education, MS
Biological Sciences, MA
Earth Sciences, BA
Electrical Engineering, MSEE
Environmental Engineering, BS
Environmental Science, BS
Environmental Studies, BS
Geography, BA
Geography, GIS, MS
Hydrology, BS
Manufacturing Engineering Technology, BS
Manufacturing Engineering, BS
Nuclear Medicine Technology, BS
Physics Education Grades 9-12, BS
Physics, BS
Physics/General Science Education Grades 5-12, BS
Software Engineering, PSM
Economics, BA
Entrepreneurship, BS
Hospitality and Tourism, BA
Public Administration, MPA
Minors in italics have already frozen admissions to their programs
Applied Behavior Analysis
Athletic Coaching
Criminal Justice Studies
Gerontology
African American Studies
American Indian Studies
Arts – Entrepreneurship
Asian-Pacific American Studies
Chicano Studies
Conflict Management
Creative Writing
English Studies
E-Sports Broadcasting
Ethnic Studies
Film Production
Gender & Women Studies
German
Intercultural Communication
Linguistics
Music
New Media – Music and Art
Sociology
Teaching English as a Second Language
Early Childhood Education
Human Relations
Applied Analytics
Applied Mathematics
Career/Technical Ed: Communication
Career/Technical Ed: Construction
Career/Technical Ed: Manufacturing
Career/Technical Ed: Transportation
Environmental Studies
Forensic Science
Geography
GIS
Hydrology
Mathematics
Middle School Mathematics
Optics
STEM Education
Economics
Entrepreneurship for Business Majors
Entrepreneurship for Non-Business Majors
Esports Management for Business Majors
Esports Management for Non-Business Majors
Heritage Preservation (CMTY)
Hospitality & Tourism
Real Estate for Business Majors
Real Estate for Non-Business Majors