Fearing future deficits similar to the one that exhausted some of the university’s surplus funds last year, the University Senate debated measures to deal with expected deficits at its Wednesday meeting.

While the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Affairs reported expected deficits through the 2008-2009 fiscal year, it also announced that 2004’s $3.2 million dollar deficit will be followed by an expected $4.5 million deficit for fiscal year 2005-2006.

‘While this may seem like a lot, it represents little over one-half of 1 percent of the overall budget,’ said Gerald Mager, chairman of the committee, during his report to the Senate and Chancellor Nancy Cantor.

The Committee’s report included a series of suggestions that, if successfully followed, have the potential to reduce the anticipated deficit from $4.5 million to only $1.9 million.

These suggestions included increasing tuition and room and board rates for 2005 to 2006. Room and board rates increase 4 percent.

Undergraduate tuition will increase 5.8 percent, less than the originally anticipated 6 percent change. Graduate school tuition will jump 8 percent, the report stated.

‘The budget is an open matter for all consideration,’ Mager said.

The higher graduate tuition increase is a reflection of this year’s $3.5 million deficit, a large part of which was caused by unanticipated low graduate enrollment, Mager said.

Students may find some respite from the increased tuition through changes in undergraduate financial aid.

The Committee also suggested increasing scholarships and grants to entering students. The increase would mean that 35.5 percent of this class’s potential tuition would be returned in scholarships to help attract exceptionally talented, high-need students, Mager said.

Other options include using portions of one-time reserves, including the remaining $900,000 from the stabilizing fund that help reduce 2004’s deficit. These reserves are surpluses from past years.

‘We are now thinking in terms of one-time funds,’ Cantor said. ‘The real issue is the long run.’

The long-run projections include a $5.1 million deficit for 2006 to 2007 before revenues begin to increase, according to the committee’s report.

The financial committee also explained concerns over an eventual change in the way budgets are created, including reconsidering how the economic conditions are predicted.

The change caused serious reservations and questions from senators and professors.

‘There is the question of how you put monetary value on things that have long-term financial impact, but no short-term financial impact,’ said Nahmin Horwitz, a physics professor.

Horwitz’s concerns included how a budget could take into account international scholarly research that brings prestige to the university.

‘We really need to keep these kinds of deficits in perspective. We are an enormous organization with lots of exciting things happening,’ Cantor said. ‘We have to be a little agile.’

Published on January 19, 2005 at 12:00 pm