Colleges and departments at Mississippi State University are pursuing new ways of saving funds as budget cuts from the state are putting increasing pressure on the school to economize.
Two of these schools include the College of Business and the Department of Foreign Languages.
According to Paul Grimes, associate dean for the College of Business, the college experienced a nearly 5 percent cut in its state-appropriated funds for the current fiscal year.
“This was very difficult given that we are well into the fiscal year and many of our expenses were already locked in through previously signed contracts and agreements,” he said. “In order to meet the reduction in state funds, the college is now relying much more heavily on self-generated funds and donations to its MSU Foundation accounts.”
Both schools have taken measures to save money, including the removal of telephones from certain offices and the reduction of faculty and staff travel budgets.
“None of our travel this year will be paid for with state appropriated dollars,” Grimes said. “All [College of Business] travel expenses will be paid with self-generated funds.”
Both schools have also reduced the number of graduate teaching assistants they employ.
“We significantly reduced the number of MBA assistantships this fall, and in the spring, we will be offering fewer, but larger sections of many undergraduate courses,” Grimes said.
Foreign language department head Jack Jordan said the cuts have left little room for growth concerning what programs his department can offer students. For the past two and a half years, he has been working with faculty from College of Business’s international business department to create a concentration in Asian languages.
“We had received permission to hire a professor, but the day before we were having two people fly down for a final interview, we found out permission had been taken back,” he said.
Jordan said not having the program will cause MSU to lose potential students.
“Ole Miss is ahead of us in Asian language,” he said. “ROTC gives targeted scholarships to students who study Chinese or Russian, so students are going there instead of here.”
According to Jordan, his department has reduced paper use by 80 percent by copying paper using both sides, using electronic versions of handouts and instituting a new rule that students must pay for any printed papers beyond basic exams. He also said classrooms have reached their maximum capacity – not just academic capacity, but maximum capacity when it comes to the lawful amount of people a room can contain. If class size limitations are not set, despite growing demand, he said he knows the quality of learning could suffer.
“Learning a language is more physical than it is intellectual,” Jordan said. “It’s like basketball – I can sit and watch someone make a basket, but that doesn’t mean I can do it. I would need coaching and to physically practice myself; the same goes with learning a new language.”
Jordan said in the midst of financial cuts one of his priorities is preserving the jobs of current staff and faculty.
“We’re really trying to avoid letting go of people,” he said. “We have tried to be proactive and show the board our efforts to avoid demands from above about what must be cut.”
Grimes also said his department is trying not to cut positions.
“No one has been fired or laid off yet; however, 98 percent of our state appropriated dollars in the College of Business are used for salaries,” he said. “If the current reductions become permanent, as we are told they will, the college will be forced to reduce its workforce.”
Grimes said cuts will mean fewer courses and reductions in the number of services offered by the college. He said there will be fewer people working on the MSU campus at this time next year unless ways to significantly increase revenue are created.
“Unfortunately, this also means that tuition is likely to rise again,” he said. “However, even with a significant increase in tuition, an MSU education is the biggest bargain that most students will ever purchase.”
Vice president of finance and administration Micheal McGrevey said budget cuts will continue to increase throughout the following years, and facing them will reshape the business practices of the university.
“Navigating the budget challenge requires team effort,” McGrevey said. “There won’t be any easy choices or decisions, but decisions must be made to live within the budget. There are difficult times ahead.”