Other universities also operate at or anticipate large deficits.
Brown University is facing a $46 million deficit that could grow to $90 million, according to a recent announcement.
The deficit could “deepen significantly” according to an announcement from the Providence, Rhode Island university.
While the university has an endowment, it is already tapping it as much as reasonable.
The school announced the reasons for the deficit problems:
These include nearly flat net revenue from undergraduate tuition growth due to a steady size of the undergraduate student body, downward pressure on tuition increases, and increased financial aid; the macroeconomic factors of unexpected high inflation, growth in salaries and benefits, and national trends toward unionization; and rapid growth in faculty and staff positions coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, with staff growth outpacing growth in faculty. We are also at the upper limit of the fiscally responsible range for taking contributions from the Brown endowment without reducing future resources available for financial aid, academic support and other priorities.
The university said it would “hold faculty headcount growth to 1%” and freeze staff growth. Brown also plans to bring in more money from its master’s programs by “ultimately doubling the number of residential master’s students and increasing online learners to 2,000 in five years.”
Faculty growth has outpaced student enrollment growth, according to The Brown Daily Herald.
Other major universities have reported similar deficits. For example, the University of Chicago ran a deficit of more than $200 million according to the student newspaper The Chicago Maroon.
The University of California system faces a half billion deficit by next summer, according to Cal Matters.
The UC system plans to address the issue in part by raising tuition for non-residents. The increase would mean non-residents may more than $50,000 per year, according to Cal Matters.
MORE: DePaul University faces a $56 million budget deficit, cuts
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