University System of Georgia (USG) Chancellor Erroll B. Davis, Jr. presented a proposed plan of how the USG would cope with an additional $300 million in budget reductions to the FY11 budget to the chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations Higher Education subcommittees on Monday.  The proposal, crafted in collaboration with the presidents of each USG institution, calls for dramatic cuts that would decrease and cap enrollment, eliminate faculty and staff positions, and shutter various services across the state. 

The $300 million in additional budget reductions would bring the total cuts requested by the governor and General Assembly to $565 million for the USG in FY11.

Chancellor Davis was charged with finding the additional $300 million in cuts during a joint meeting of the House and Senate Appropriations Higher Education subcommittees last week.  The subcommittee chairmen called for the chancellor to present a worst-case planning scenario that assumed a $565 million total budget cut and no additional sources of revenue. 

Georgia Tech’s share of this additional reduction is approximately $38 million.  To meet this cut, administrators have proposed decreasing freshman admissions by 20%, severely restricting transfer admissions, eliminating approximately 450 positions, and reducing the number of course sections offered by more than 500.  Administrators also suggested significant cuts and closures for the Enterprise Innovation Institute, Tech’s economic development outreach program.

Each of the other 34 USG institutions are preparing for similar actions.  The University of Georgia has proposed eliminating approximately 1,400 positions and closing half of the County Extension Offices across the state.  Georgia State University’s proposal includes over 600 job cuts and reduction of freshman and transfer students by 1,000.  Others have proposed enrollment caps, academic program elimination, and campus closures. 

The proposal put forth by the University System will be the topic of discussion of a second joint meeting of the funding subcommittees on Wednesday morning.  The chancellor is expected to present the plans to the full subcommittees and address questions.

In his letter that accompanied the proposed plans, Chancellor Davis emphasized that while the cuts presented “should be viewed as informational and not as recommendations,” the USG institutions were prepared to implement them in a worst-case scenario.  The majority of final budget actions would be subject to the review and approval of the Board of Regents after the FY11 allocation to the USG from the General Assembly is received. 

Find out more about the budget reduction proposals and view the actual reduction scenario documents online at http://www.usg.edu/fiscal_affairs/.

Download Georgia Tech’s legislative priorities, capital project proposals, budget support documents, and legislative contact information at http://www.gov.gatech.edu/gtln/resources.html.