University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds on Tuesday released a proposed 2017-18 operating budget that he said protects NU’s highest priorities of affordability and academic quality despite a reduction in state funding that will necessitate difficult decisions across the institution.
Reductions approved by the Legislature and additional cuts from Gov. Pete Ricketts, coupled with NU’s unavoidable rising costs, will create a recurring budget gap of $49 million by the end of the biennium.
Bounds says the university plans to manage the challenge by cutting up to $30 million from its operations and increasing tuition at a level that will maintain NU’s position as one of the best values among its peers.
The proposed tuition increase for 2017-18 amounts to about $10 to $12 more per credit hour for a typical resident undergraduate. Bounds is also proposing an increase of $6 to $7.50 per credit hour for most resident undergraduates for 2018-19 to help students and families plan, although that amount is contingent upon the university receiving no additional cuts in state funding.
With the tuition increases, Bounds says NU’s costs would remain well below those of peer institutions.
Bounds noted that the proposed tuition increases are moderate enough that they are not expected to impact enrollment, a key consideration given that the university already produces some 11,000 graduates annually and intends to grow that figure to do even more to meet the needs of Nebraska’s workforce.
The university also plans to cut more than 100 nonfaculty positions over the next two years. He says most of those cuts will come through attrition. Bounds also announced plans to cut $30 million from it's operation budget.
The plan will be submitted to the Board of Regents.