Facing a budget deficit and enrollment declines, the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith is reorganizing itself, consolidating colleges, cutting costs and maintaining a hiring freeze.
Chancellor Terisa Riley unveiled the plan Monday after a monthslong process that began in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring.
Administrators expect the plan to generate nearly $1.17 million in continued annual savings and new revenue, and create a one-year surplus of $530,000 in fiscal 2022.
Elements of the plan include consolidating the number of colleges from five to three: the College of Health, Education and Human Sciences; the College of Business and Industry; and the College of Arts and Sciences.
It will also close its performing arts theater The Blue Lion and sell its equipment. And it will create a Center for Student Success and Retention to house existing programs that are currently operating independently.
Budget and Enrollment
Riley told Arkansas Business late Monday that the reorganization is the university’s response to “a compounding situation” and the result of a process that sought to include everyone on campus.
Riley said several reputable national organizations, based on studies conducted in spring 2020, told universities to expect a 10%-20% decline in enrollment. So UAFS based its budget on a projected decline of 15% in tuition and fees.
Facing an $8 million deficit for fiscal year 2021, the university immediately reduced travel, operations and maintenance expenses, implemented a hiring freeze and used institutional reserves to create a more balanced budget.
It also set about trying to find a long-term solution to the deficit and declining enrollment. It held campus forums, conducted surveys and established six subcommittees to make specific recommendations.
UAFS aims to reduce the $8 million deficit to around $3 million; it’s now between $5 million and $6 million, Riley said. The university will use some of the federal pandemic stimulus money it received to cover the shortfall.
Since the reorganization doesn’t involve layoffs or declaring “financial exigency,” it does not require final approval from the UA System, Riley said, although she plans to give a presentation about the plan to UA System trustees at their regular meeting in May.
The university has avoided layoffs amid the pandemic and will continue to do so, she said. It has nearly 700 employees, not including student workers.
Riley said UAFS has made three internal interim dean appointments, without salary increases, because administrators knew they would have to combine colleges. That way, “in the event that a reorganization meant that some areas would not exist, or some positions would not exist, it would not mean a person losing a job,” Riley said.
After the reorganization, interim deans will return to their previous positions. UAFS doesn’t plan to hire anyone for non-critical positions, nor will it replace a few employees who are expected to retire. The one exception, Riley said, is to hire a dean for the new College of Health, Education and Human Sciences.
Trends
Riley said the pandemic roiled students’ expectations last spring and accelerated the “enrollment cliff” tied to lower birth rates that was projected to hit higher education in 2025 or 2026.
“At the beginning [of the outbreak], the students felt like they were not getting their money’s worth,” she said. “… I also heard it nationally, how students were concerned: ‘I’ve spent a lot of money; I don’t get to use some of the amenities on my campus,’” she said.
But she’s optimistic that some students, uncomfortable with online learning, will return to college campuses that, like UAFS, are committed to in-person instruction.
And the enrollment declines weren’t as severe as expected. UAFS saw year-over-year declines of 5% in the fall and 11% in the spring, which Riley attributes to the pandemic. (The university reported 5,002 students this spring.)
Students shouldn’t notice many of the changes related to the reorganization, Riley said. The biggest change will be in the names of the colleges where degrees are conferred. Accreditation of each program will remain intact, and agencies will be notified by the Office of the Provost.
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