Dear Colleagues,
I’m writing to follow up on the January 30 PSU Board of Trustees, Finance and Administration Committee discussion (F&A) and the Winter 2023 Budget Planning Update message from the president regarding planning for PSU’s financial future. As you know, budget projections based on our declining enrollments indicate that we will have as much as a $50 million gap between the funds we receive (primarily from tuition and the state) and our forecasted expenditures by 2027. The Trustees are considering guidance relating to how we can use our reserves to mitigate the reductions we need to make to bring our expenses in line with our revenues.
While we have been talking about and experiencing reductions to our budgets for a number of years, I suspect that it was shocking to many of you to see the amounts that come from seeing these reductions over a multi-year period—$50 million by 2027—and to address that, a projected reduction of 300 employee FTE. As we all experience the impacts of having fewer colleagues to handle instructional, student support, and campus operations work, it can be daunting to think about reducing our employee base even further. Those reductions in faculty and staff parallel the decreased number of students we serve. PSU is enrolling fewer students than we did at our peak enrollment; based on the demographics of Oregon, those numbers are very likely to continue to decline over the next five years, with an estimated decline in enrollments of 36% by FY2026-27 from peak years.
These conversations are not easy. As I know from listening to many of you, the levels of stress you feel are already impacting your work, and now we are asking you to continue to participate in difficult conversations. At the same time, our students are experiencing higher levels of stress, which I know impacts all of you who work hard every day to serve them.
While we remain deeply committed to PSU’s mission and values, the structures to support the expected 14,000 student FTE by 2027 are different from those that supported the 21,206 students we enrolled in 2016. As we think about operating as a smaller institution, one option is to continue to try and do everything we’re doing but at a smaller scale. In truth, we’re seeing the stresses of this approach already. However, another option is to think about doing our work differently. To do this, we need both to rethink how we are organized and adjust the size and scope of our curriculum and infrastructure to adapt to a smaller number of students.
Colleagues in CLAS are showing us the way. During this past year, faculty have been exploring a plan for developing a new School within CLAS to focus on one of our students’ priority concerns: the environment and surrounding sociocultural, biophysical, and climate sciences. Faculty from over six units are exploring possibilities for this new structure, including sharing curricular and administrative infrastructure. Most importantly, the new School would enable faculty and students to take full advantage of the multi-disciplinary expertise needed to prepare students to contribute and lead in this growing field. Staff in CLAS also completed a ReImagine project to explore how to share services across the college.
Great examples come from units who put forward their work in Phase II and III reports, including streamlining degree requirements, enabling students to take elective credits from other units, and condensing tracks to become more flexible. Colleagues in UNST are also undertaking conversations about Junior Cluster courses and how they may be rethought to support students.
The most pressing issues regionally and nationally—behavioral health, racial equity, and justice, environment, the impacts of technology/AI, and more—require interdisciplinary collaboration. PSU has an extraordinary edge in addressing these challenges because of the strong base of interdisciplinary thinking that is a hallmark of our programs and scholarship. I know many of you see a gap between interdisciplinary faculty and student interests and university practices. I hear you. It’s my goal to utilize this opportunity to rethink our organization to support and enhance our interdisciplinary activities.To that end, I’m committing OAA resources to support conversations that enhance our interdisciplinary capacities while reducing administrative costs. I look forward to engaging with all of you in this work.
Students have benefitted for years from the exceptional learning opportunities created by PSU faculty. However, with fewer students enrolled, we are finding increased internal competition for a smaller population of students.To adjust to fewer students, several colleges are engaging in a process of reducing the size of the curriculum as well as the frequency with which electives are offered. One great example comes from a number of the Phase II reports, where units streamlined degree requirements and changed policies to enable students to take elective credits from other units. Colleagues in UNST are undertaking conversations about Junior Cluster courses and how they may be rethought to support students.
While we make these adjustments, we will continue aggressively seeking new ways for students to enroll and graduate from PSU. Increasing the number of online degrees makes it possible for us to enroll students who may not be able to attend PSU in person. Strategic Investment funds are available through OAI for units that wish to develop fully online degrees.
Students tell us consistently that career opportunities are a motivating factor in deciding whether to go to college. We can do more to enhance the support that students need to develop career pathways. While many units already do a great deal, I want to particularly recognize a new pilot that UNST is launching to integrate career readiness into the UNST mentoring program.
Sometimes It seems that conversations about budgets dominate our thinking and overshadow the important work that all of you do every day to enable our students to achieve their educational dreams. It’s important to remember that, every year, thousands of students graduate from PSU with lives that are changed by their experiences here. Communities and students are impacted every day by PSU’s educational programs and scholarships.
The budget projections requested by the Trustees present a challenging future. Our goal now is to do everything we can to change that future. I am confident that the combined energy and commitment of PSU faculty and staff can make that happen. I will continue to work with all of you to support and enhance PSU’s important role in the communities we serve.
