University of Massachusetts President Marty Meehan used a sailing analogy to describe the institution’s coming fiscal squeeze.
The university system, Meehan said, is sailing into some “very strong headwinds,” with lower birth rates affecting enrolment, more competition for students, and people questioning whether a college degree is worth the money.
The USS UMass, however, is in danger of running aground even in calm waters, thanks to its overloaded cargo hold.
As the State House News reported, salary and fringe benefits constitute 60% of UMass’s expenses in fiscal 2024, an increase of $186 million compared to the fiscal 2023 projection. A Boston Herald deep dive in to state payrolls revealed that most of the state’s top earners are employed by UMass. One chancellor took home over $1 million. A year.
No wonder people are questioning whether they should take on the financial burden of a college education – knowing that a good chunk of their tuition is going to line the pockets of highly-paid college administrators does take the shine off a prospective diploma.
It’s this lower supply of students battling the higher demand of salary costs that threatens to scuttle the UMass yacht. Their solution?
“Addressing these challenges will require active management and continued advocacy for a change to the cost-sharing arrangement with the commonwealth,” said.Joe Skrzek, assistant budget director at UMass.
A “change to the cost-changing arrangement” is a nice way of saying “give us more money.”
Skrzek crunched the numbers: Overall enrollment at UMass is slated to decrease by 0.3% in fiscal 2024, capping a three-year downward trend, said. That’s fueled by a 1% drop in undergraduate students and a 2% drop in in-state students — though the percentage of graduate, out-of-state and international students is projected to rise, as well as those pursuing continuing education.
If less revenue is coming in, why not, as we have pointed out often, trim the fat?
According to Meehan, UMass has managed to save more than $100 million through procurement strategies to prepare for the looming hurdles.
That’s a good start – but that still leaves the problem of administrative bloat. It’s not the rank-and-file employees who slog through the day-to-day running of the university system, or who try to whip up enthusiasm for Chaucer among undergrads. It’s the top tier that won the paycheck lottery.
“We’ll continue to focus on financial accountability and work toward maximizing cost-saving initiatives through shared services to help offset some of the budget challenges that we’ve discussed and keep the university financially strong,” Skrzek said.
And of course, appealing to Beacon Hill to pump up the budget.
We’re still waiting for the Supreme Court to make its decision on President Biden’s plan to forgive student loan debt. If that doesn’t go through, prospective college students will have to take a long hard look at what they’re paying for.
It doesn’t look like smooth sailing.
