University of Colorado Boulder leaders expect decreased enrollment to exacerbate the steep budget cuts already levied upon the largest university in the state as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on higher education, according to a memo sent to campus employees Thursday.
CU Boulder estimates it will have to cut an additional $17 million from this year’s budget after administrators slashed it in anticipation of financial shortfalls due to COVID-19.
News of the enrollment drop and new budget cuts comes as CU Boulder investigates potential outbreaks in four campus dormitories after wastewater monitoring detected the virus. Students in those four halls were asked Wednesday to get tested.
As of Thursday, the Boulder campus had confirmed 37 cases of COVID-19 through its testing since classes began Aug. 24, but 21 of those positive results came on Wednesday alone. CU had only discovered three positive cases over the two preceding days.
With 107 tests performed Wednesday, the 21 cases represent a single-day positivity rate of nearly 20% — significantly higher than the 5% that public health officials hope to stay below. Overall, CU Boulder’s positivity rate since school began is a little under 8%.
Ten students currently are in isolation housing on campus, and CU officials have warned they expect to find more positive cases this week connected to the four dorms.
“The next few days will be critical to our ability to maintain our current operating status,” Dan Jones, CU Boulder’s associate vice chancellor for integrity, safety and compliance, wrote in a memo to students, faculty and staff on Wednesday evening.
Chana Goussetis, spokeswoman for Boulder County Public Health, previously told The Denver Post that 20 new cases per day might be beyond the scope the health agency and university could handle.
To date, only one higher-education institution in the state — Colorado College, which had quarantined three freshmen dorms — has been forced to move to online learning because of COVID-19 infections on campus.
“Downward trend with fall enrollment”
On Thursday, CU Boulder officials would not say how much enrollment had declined in the face of the pandemic, citing the need to wait for the results of a Sept. 11 campus census. A university projection earlier this summer had held enrollment would remain stable.
“Our June enrollment projections were based on data and information that were available at that time,” said Deborah Méndez-Wilson, spokeswoman for CU Boulder. “Over the summer and into the fall, we have been tracking enrollment and knew that the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 would impact fall enrollment numbers. Uncertainties about the pandemic and the economy are still on the minds of students and their families, and many are still weighing their options to determine what works best for them.
“Right now we are seeing a downward trend with fall enrollment, and the pandemic and economic factors likely played a large role in the melt we are seeing,” she said.
Melt is the percentage of students who decided not to attend CU Boulder after previously confirming their intent to enroll.
State funding cuts, enrollment changes and costs associated with COVID-19 left CU Boulder with an estimated funding gap of $120 million this fiscal year compared to a year ago, Provost Russell Moore and Chief Operating Officer Patrick O’Rourke wrote in their memo to campus employees.
After a one-time, $48 million lifeboat in the form of federal relief funds, $14 million in savings from furloughs and temporary pay cuts, and $7 million in contingency funds set aside after 2013 enrollment declines, the campus still has at least a $51 million general fund gap, Moore and O’Rourke wrote.
“All administrative and academic units must begin addressing our new budget reality with current and planned cost-saving efforts that we will begin to implement in the upcoming weeks,” Moore and O’Rourke wrote.
CU Boulder employees will learn details about budget cuts to their schools, colleges and administrative units by the end of this week, Moore and O’Rourke wrote.
“Stronger university in the future”
In July, CU Boulder officials asked colleges, schools and departments to cut their budgets by 5% for a one-time cut. Thursday’s memo said unless CU Boulder’s financial situation “significantly and unexpectedly” declined, no unit would be asked to reduce their budget more than 5% in this fiscal year, but also noted that the cuts may extend beyond this year.
“We will notify schools, colleges and administrative units whether the current year’s temporary budget reductions will become continuing budget reductions once we have a better understanding of this year’s and next year’s enrollments,” Moore and O’Rourke wrote. “Until then, we encourage units to approach this year’s reductions with long-term plans in mind.”
In June, financial experts at CU announced the system’s budget for the next academic year would fall 5.3% from last year, dipping to $4.54 billion from $4.79 billion, largely due to the financial impacts of the new coronavirus.
Higher education institutions across the state are reeling from pandemic-related lacerations to their budgets, which are often first on the chopping block when the state make cuts. Legislators shaved $493 million from the upcoming year’s higher education budget to patch a $3.3 billion coronavirus-shaped hole in the state budget. Gov. Jared Polis sutured that wound with $450 million of federal CARES Act money that he issued to public colleges and universities to be used for pandemic-associated costs.
“Each of you has been impacted by furloughs and temporary pay reductions, and our academic and administrative units are making difficult decisions on behalf of our campus community,” Moore and O’Rourke wrote. “We remain grateful. We believe these difficult decisions will prepare us for a more rapid recovery and enable us to be a stronger university in the future. We also understand the real impacts budget cuts have on the lives of our community members and thank you all for the sacrifices you have made for CU Boulder.”
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CU Boulder enrollment drops, administrators warn more budget cuts are looming - Longmont Times-Call
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