The Echo

Issue date: 4/16/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Brittany Shaw Breaking the bank: The hiring freeze, possibility of cut majors and looming tuition increase are forcing the administration to make difficult choices to balance the books after state-mandated budget cuts.

The $100 million stimulus plan for higher education in Tennessee will bring short-term relief to UTC's current budget cuts, Chancellor Roger Brown said.

The package could bring as much as $10 million to UTC and will be used to mitigate the current budget cuts and allow the administration more time to plan for long-term cuts. The stimulus package will also reduce the tuition increase proposed for next year. In an open meeting with students Tuesday, Brown said the proposed tuition increase has been lowered from 9 percent to 5 percent since the stimulus was passed.

Brown said the stimulus money will help UTC prepare for long-term cuts but will not replace the deep cuts that are already being anticipated. "We plan to move forward with the permanent budget cuts identified for this upcoming year," Brown said. "Then we may use the stimulus dollars to restore some of those cuts on a temporary basis or to fund other short-term or one-time priorities."

Charlie Campbell, a Jasper, Tenn., senior, said, "I think it will be just a temporary relief, but I think it will help UTC enough so we won't be in this position again."

In addition to the hiring freeze, departments are required to minimize travel and delay purchasing equipment. The list of possible cuts includes reducing the number of personal computers and printers on campus, promoting energy efficiency and reducing the number of commencements.

Brown said low-producing majors are still under evaluation, but majors will not be cut solely based on their low-producing status. "There could be good reasons majors are low-producing," Brown said, "but we need to be able to provide those reasons."

Hannah Gracy, a Ringgold, Ga., sophomore, said, "I am worried that funding for foreign languages will go down and that my minor in French might suffer for it."

Brown said there are no current plans to cut graduate programs. "We have never aspired to be another UTK, and our slate of graduate programs is vital to the economic development and educational needs of our region," he said.

Brown cautioned that the budget drama is not yet over.

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