Syracuse University unveiled a 4.5 percent tuition and room and board increase, an 11.3 percent increase in financial aid and a salary freeze for employees making $50,000 or more at a University Senate meeting Wednesday in Maxwell Auditorium.

The tuition raise is the lowest percentage increase in 43 years, said Chancellor Nancy Cantor, who spoke after the Senate Budget Committee presented the committee’s recommendations.

She explained and responded to questions about the reasoning behind the measures, all part of SU’s attempt to balance its budget and preserve the university’s affordability appeal in worsening economic times. The Senate confirmed Cantor’s recommendations.

The meeting is usually held in January, but committee chair Chilukuri Mohan called this an exceptional circumstance.

After the committee’s presentation, Cantor gave a brief introduction, during which she announced that she will cut her own salary by 10 percent, and then opened the floor to a question and answer session. Faculty members challenged the budget decisions. The heaviest criticism came with discussion of the faculty salary freeze and administrations’ spending transparency.

Cantor was visibly frustrated during the meeting, at some points raising her voice and turning red, when she had to defend herself and her administration to the mostly faculty audience.

‘It’s a tough time. We feel this is a responsible budget, and a responsive budget,’ Cantor said. ‘That is, responsive to our lowest-paid employees, it is responsive to our academic momentum, and it’s responsive to our students and their families.’

The budget was made based on the projection that SU will enroll 609 fewer students during the 2009-10 academic year, according to enrollment figures from SU and the budget committee report. Mohan said SU has already received 21,000 applications for admission – the second highest number in the school’s history.

‘We could have a very high increase in student tuition, and of course that’s not something that’s going to be very popular with students and their families,’ Mohan said.

The changes come after the value of SU’s endowment fell from $946 million to $672 million since June 2008. The university is attempting to cut $8 million from its administrative operating budget this year, increasing that to $12 million next year.

The university initially intended to use $29.1 million of its reserve funds. With the cuts, it will only use $4.9 million, as to not deplete the funds, Mohan said.

Fiscal challenges the university faces include the drop in the endowment, the increased financial need of incoming and returning students, and the $50 million lawsuit between SU and the company that supplies its steam, Mohan said.

Mohan said most departments seem to be in good shape, with the exception of SU Abroad. Special steps are being taken to make sure the department could handle the next fiscal year, he said. Mohan also encouraged every department to take a closer look at finances and monitor costs.

The salary freeze, which recommends a 3 percent pay increase only for employees making less than $50,000, won’t affect faculty eligible for promotion or tenure. Ninety-six percent of faculty members earn more than $50,000 a year, according to the report. The freeze extends to the administration, including Cantor’s cabinet, deans and senior leadership. The university expects to save $5.3 million, according to the Senate report.

In January, SU laid off 48 employees and eliminated 71 vacant positions. Cantor said she intends to maintain the university’s 89 ongoing faculty searches. Personnel costs make up more than 44 percent of the budget, Cantor said.

Cantor outlined three aspects of the financial situation for students. She said the university is working to expand its affordability to middle- and lower-income families, increase institutional scholarships and cope with the rising financial needs of returning students.

Though the university kept the tuition increase rate to a relevantly low percentage, it also increased the amount of financial aid for students. The budget cuts are necessary to balance the university’s finances, Cantor said.

‘The financial aid office has been very proactive in getting letters out, really reaching out to students who look like they might be in trouble, in addition to taking and responding to calls from students who are bringing in new economic pressures from their families,’ Cantor said.

shmelike@syr.edu

Published on March 4, 2009 at 12:00 pm