Colleagues:
At the last faculty meeting, I updated everyone on the FY26 budget and the very near-term $3 million gap we face in the coming fiscal year. Of course, we either cut expenditures or increase revenues to close this gap. The latter is where we have greater opportunities for long-term success, and we’ve already begun to make progress.
It will be challenging, but we can manage our new budget reality if each of us puts effort into where we can make the greatest impact.
As for reducing expenditures,most of our expenses go to salaries (about $19 million of a total of $22 million) and, clearly, this is not where we want to cut. Other expenses include items like necessary supplies and laboratory support. We can achieve some short-term savings through expense reductions or purchase deferrals, although not enough to close the entire $3 million gap. Thus, increasing revenue is critical both for FY26 and especially beyond.
Increase Revenue: RESEARCH, RETENTION, RECRUITMENT
This is where we can collectively make the greatest impact, and we already have some good news here from your efforts:
- Research awards are ahead of last FY by over $6.2 million!
- With the university’s new direct-admits policy, we anticipate the college will gain 100-125 additional freshmen in the fall, an almost 50% increase in our typical cohort.
- We also anticipate an increase of 20-25 transfer students this fall – about a 20% increase.
- Advanced discussions for new international partnerships are underway with several universities in Taiwan, India, Korea, and Colombia.
Here are five steps we, as a college, must take, without delay:
- Continue to grow the college’s research enterprise. A reminder that the college earns about $.40 for every dollar of external research expenditure.
- Enhance proposal activity and seek interdisciplinary collaborations to both increase proposal amounts and get more faculty actively engaged. If not actively engaged, look for ways to help free up time for those who are.
- FY25 expenditures are in line with last year despite awards being up. Within the constraints of your projects, look for ways to increase expenditures during the remainder of this fiscal year as this directly impacts our funding for FY26 and beyond.
- Make student retention a priority. We do this in two ways: by retaining more of our current students and taking measures to assure our incoming new, but less-prepared, students are successful from the start, so they return for their second year and beyond. Specific opportunities include:
- Consult with Associate Dean Guptasarma for help in implementing the takeaways from Professor Uriel Cuckierman’s workshops.
- Connect with CETL for courses or even 1:1 guidance or questions on adjusting your teaching to support retention.
- Reach out to Ben Church to learn more about his successes in implementing positive change in his teaching.
- Look for formal and informal engagement opportunities with students outside the classroom. Students often report their faculty don’t care about them. Let’s change this misperception.
3. Solidify the transfer pathway to the college’s new BS in Engineering. We are promoting this program with a goal of enrolling the first students in Fall 2025 and setting the stage for larger future classes.
- Consider relevant classes that you could offer at WCTC or online to a larger set of transfer partners. Students interested in pursuing this degree are seeking flexibility, including online offerings.
4. Formalize international partnerships in progress.
- Several faculty are working to expand or develop new partnerships with universities in Taiwan, Korea, India, and elsewhere. We need to finalize these agreements and begin the recruiting process.
- Consider curricular changes, particularly at the master’s level, which will be attractive to international students looking for the latest, modern education in hot topic areas.
5. Lean into recruiting.
- Say “yes” when invited to participate in outreach and recruiting activities, on and off campus.
- Consider reaching out to students who inquire about your programs (Lisa can provide you lists).
- Graduate tuition revenue remains an area of great uncertainty, and so we should put forward effort to ensure current students re-enroll and that we reach out and recruit admitted students to improve our yield rate.
In summary, our near-term outlook is challenging, but manageable. We must put our efforts toward revenue growth to avoid having painful reductions imposed on us. We must heed this sense of urgency as change takes time to implement and the return on those investments will also take time. We must work together as a college. No department is “OK.” No department is well-positioned to “save itself.” Collectively, we can survive … and thrive.
Questions about your role in our success? Reach out to your department chair, the associate deans, or me. Thank you for all you do for our students, for our college, and your colleagues across the college.
Best,
Brett