HSU Budget for 2018-19

April 9, 2018

The following message regarding the University budget was sent to all students earlier today.

9 April 2018

Subject: HSU Budget for 2018-19

To: All Students
From: President Lisa A. Rossbacher

Dear Students,

Today I am sharing final decisions about the 2018-19 University budget with the campus community. The memo outlining the decisions is here (pdf).

As promised, this budget prioritizes your educational experience, even as it makes difficult spending reductions. The budget limits the impact on course sections and allows us to continue providing the support you need to make progress toward your degrees.

Many of you have voiced concerns about the budget and the overall reduction of about $9 million that must be made over the next two years. Be assured that we have heard your concerns, and that the administration, faculty, and staff are all committed to your success. This is a “Students First” budget, and our priorities continue to be: student success; equity and diversity; fiscal stability and stewardship; and shared responsibility and accountability.

I commend our College Deans and Department Chairs, in particular, for their diligent work in course planning for the fall. Their work included identifying course sections that could be consolidated, electives sections that could be limited, and courses that had to be priorities given student degree maps. As of now, the Fall 2018 semester has 93 percent of the spaces in course sections that were offered in Fall 2017 – and bear in mind that last fall we had empty seats in some sections and higher enrollment than we had last fall.

The two-year budget plan will reduce HSU’s overall operational budget by $9 million, to approximately $135 million. It will end years of deficit spending, put us in a better financial position, and allow us to better invest in serving students today and in the future. Details about budget planning are available at the HSU Budget Office website. The site includes extensive background, a budget FAQs, and numerous reports, including the presentation (pdf) from the recent Student Budget Forum.

I welcome student participation in our campus shared governance process and appreciate students’ willingness to serve, while juggling competing priorities, on many of the committees and groups that are involved in campus planning. If you are interested in this type of role in the future, please contact one of your representatives in Associated Students.

I wish you all the best for the remainder of the semester.

Sincerely yours,

Lisa A. Rossbacher, Ph.D.
President

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