As the global pandemic continues to spread throughout the country, colleges and universities all around the states are finding the need to slash budgets in order to stay afloat. These budget cuts are taking out job positions, majors and other different programs in schools all around the nation. While this may not have an impact on all, it can definitely leave an impact on many. However, with colleges and universities dealing with a growing financial crisis, it seems as if budget cuts are the only thing keeping them from being washed away.
Just to name a few of the cutbacks listed by the New York Times, Ohio Wesleyan University just removed 18 of its majors, University of Florida took the first step in releasing faculty members on furlough this month, and the University of California-Berkeley has just put a halt to its admissions for the Ph.D. programs in anthropology, sociology and art. Finding money to support smaller programs like some of those previously listed has been an ongoing issue “brought on by years of shrinking state support, declining enrollment and student concerns with skyrocketing tuition and burdensome debt,” but the pandemic itself hasn’t made it any better. The New York Times stated that “the pandemic has cost college at least $120 billion, with even Harvard University, despite its $41.9 billion endowments, reporting a $10 million deficit that has prompted belt-tightening.”
Due to the pandemic, colleges and universities around the nation have spent billions of dollars on testing, tracking and quarantining only to inevitably face outbreaks on campus. A New York Times database confirms that just last spring there were more than 241,000 cases on campuses and at least 75 deaths, mostly among adults. While both students and families face unemployment, they are opting out of schools that cost more money and are attending those that are less expensive and closer to home or taking a gap year altogether. Because of this, freshman enrollment is down 16 percent compared to last year. The American Council on Education estimates that the virus will “cost institutions more than $120 billion in increased student aid, lost housing feeds, forgone sports revenue, public health measures, learning technology and other adjustments,” which is why there is a need to decrease funding elsewhere and sacrifice programs and positions. This has included “abolishing athletic programs, deferring campus construction and laying off administrative staff and cafeteria workers.”
We are seeing these cutbacks very close to home in our own state of Florida, as well. Just this month, the University of South Florida released the news that they will start phasing out its undergraduate education degrees to “help close a $6.8 million budget gap.” This sent shock waves to the education circles around the area since the University of South Florida’s College of Education is known to be a major training ground for teachers in the region’s kindergarten through 12th grade schools. According to the Tampa Bay Times, around 1,887 of the estimated 5,000 educators in Pasco county receive their degrees from the University of South Florida.
While the pandemic continues to strike the nation, the consequences are pouring in. On top of negatively impacting the health and wellbeing of the American people, COVID-19 is impacting the funding going into beneficial programs in colleges and universities around the country. In-person classes aren’t the only things that have had to go, as inevitable budget cuts are taking away majors, faculty positions and suspending different Ph.D. programs. One can only hope there is an end to this soon as we have been faced with so many changes within this past year.
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