December 6, 2023

Dear Colleagues,

As we head into the final days of fall semester, I want to share with you some key updates on our Organizational Resilience and Financial Stability (OR/FS) planning and implementation efforts. First, as a reminder, here is a summary of what has occurred to date: 

This past summer, we launched our OR/FS work with a campuswide webinar to share candidly and honestly with all of you the details of a significant budget shortfall in Fiscal Year 2024. We also shared concerning student enrollment projections that will lead to an additional budget shortfall in FY25 and, if left unchecked, would continue to grow into FY26. (A recording of this webinar along with all other relevant OR/FS information is available on the OR/FS webpage.)

As I said during the webinar, I understand this news is sobering and unsettling, but it must not be ignored. We are resolved to address the challenge as a campus community through shared examination, deliberation and problem solving.

To that end, we established a set of guiding principles, and I charged a multidisciplinary team of faculty and staff to form an OR/FS planning group. The planning group was charged with making recommendations in four key areas:

In late September, the planning group completed their charge and presented their report to me. With the help of many creative ideas offered by members of the campus community via the OR/FS webpage, the planning group presented thematic recommendations in the areas of cost containment and revenue generation. I shared a high-level overview of these recommendations during the State of the University address in early October. (You can listen to that overview, including the thematic recommendations of the OR/FS planning group, using this link.)

Recommendations for cost containment included:

And recommendations for revenue generation included:

We decided that the best way to move forward in addressing this challenge was to seek additional external support from consultants with extensive experience in navigating such matters in higher education. With campus community input as our guide, and in consultation with and support from the CSU Board of Trustees, we solicited proposals from organizational consulting firms. We have retained the consulting firm EY-Parthenon, who will work with us over the next several weeks to gather and analyze specific measurable data that will guide our cost-containment and revenue-generation decisions between now and the end of the academic year. 

We selected EY-Parthenon for their knowledge and experience in doing this work with other universities. In addition, our primary EY-Parthenon consultants have extensive experience in higher education themselves. This kind of experience and insight will help us to take a long view even as we address our near-term budget challenge and to develop effective strategies in this rapidly shifting landscape.

As their first priority, EY-Parthenon will focus on gathering and analyzing data to inform the top three OR/FS recommendation areas (examining academic programs and structures, assessing workforce needs, and reducing university expenses). A steering committee that includes both members of the CSU Board of Trustees and the Senior Leadership Team will be charged with coordinating EY-Parthenon’s engagement with the campus community. Chief of Staff Patty Franklin will serve as CSU’s liaison for this work. This project will move quickly, and I offer my sincere thanks to those of you who will be assisting in this effort, including gathering data, offering your expertise and other efforts.

You will receive timely updates on this project via email and the OR/FS webpage. I am committed to sharing campus-wide messages throughout this process to keep you informed. The senior leadership team and college deans will be regularly briefed and will be a helpful resource to you for information specific to your area.

Going forward, and as we did for FY24, we will find a way to balance our budget and strengthen our financial future. I am encouraged every day by the passion, creativity and effort each of you brings to your work on behalf of our students and the students yet to come. Together, we will secure a bright future for students, for all of Cleveland State University, and for the Greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio regions.

Sincerely,

Laura Bloomberg, PhD

President

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