noffen@heraldsun.com; 419-6646
DURHAM -- N.C. Central University will lose 64 faculty positions because of state budget cuts.
The university's Board of Trustees heard Tuesday that an expected reduction of nearly $14 million in state funding also will mean a loss of 43 other, non-faculty positions that support academic affairs, research, student services, physical plant and administrative operations.
Claudia Odum Hager, the associate vice chancellor for finance, told the trustees that the UNC system's Board of Governors ultimately will determine the university's exact appropriation, probably sometime within the next few weeks.
"But we know the final numbers won't be good," she said.
The approximate 15 percent loss in funding, Odum Hager said, "will have an effect on the finance, human resource and information technology areas, which will ultimately influence service delivery provided to students, faculty and staff."
Those who use the campus, she explained, "will experience a decline in environmental conditions, which affect the delivery of instruction in the classroom and staff productivity when temperatures are excessive or building maintenance issues occur."
The expected funding cuts come on the heels of several years of permanent state budget reductions and yearly reversions -- where the university has had to return part of its allocations to the state.
Since the 2000-01 academic year, NCCU has lost nearly $43 million in funding.
But "during the past reductions, we've been able to shield the academic side of the house," Odum Hager said. "We don't have that capacity any more."
Two thirds of the faculty positions lost were filled by adjunct instructors, serving in time-limited positions. To deal with the loss of the positions, the university will need to increase the size of classes and offer 15 percent fewer course sections during the next academic year.
"That's what concerns me the most," said Chancellor Charlie Nelms. "With fewer course sections, that can add to the length of time for degree completion. We're going to have to make sure that students take the maximum number of classes during each semester."
In expectation of reduced funding, all divisions at the university have been asked to review their operations for efficiencies and to eliminate duplicate operations.
"We're going to have to make some tough choices," Nelms said. "Really tough choices. We're going to have to take a close look at low-enrollment and low-degree granting areas."
To help replace the lost faculty slots, administrators, including the top academic officer, Provost Kwesi Aggrey, have stepped in to teach some courses. Nelms said if he could work out his schedule, he would step in to teach as well.
While the campus has been preparing for the cuts for some time, "it's nevertheless going to take a lot of adjustments," said trustees Chairman Glenn Adams. Larger, wealthier campuses in the system, he said, could weather the cuts more easily, "but that's the just the way it is. To get through this, we're all just going to have to step up and help out."
