President C. Scott Green released a detailed budget memo Wednesday morning, outlining the University of Idaho’s budget challenges and the next steps toward addressing these issues.
The current $14 million projected deficit and subsequent budget reductions are now permanent cuts. The budget shortfall is estimated to reach $22 million by Fiscal Year 2022. This comes from an $8 million decrease in tuition revenue by 2022 and as a result, $8 million in “anticipated additional cuts.”
Green and the administration took a big step Wednesday in sticking to his promises of openness and transparency. These are issues the university has only recently begun to discuss — at least, as openly as this one seems to be discussed with the general public of the university.
Challenges in balancing the books are not challenges new to this university, but the seeming openness thus far may be.
However, while university-level transparency so far has been good and well, there needs to be assurance it will continue at all levels.
Transparency means laying out the facts. It means leaving no stone unturned. It means having an open and honest dialogue, even when met with a flurry of angry emails and phone calls. It means being open and honest when it is least convenient to the university.
We deserve this same transparency, and while it seems Green has begun to take steps toward an open dialogue, the discussion is far from over.
Green mentions three “big goals” in his memo — long-term challenges the university is working toward. Crucially, the first goal outlines the support of student success. How? By improving enrollment, retention and graduation rates while ensuring post-UI career success.
Yet there are no specifics — no mention of how this is possible, especially in the face of an estimated tuition decrease referenced only a few paragraphs prior.
Transparency exists, but only in places university administration allows it to. It’s difficult to “champion the University of Idaho” when the only tangible information we can parade is a $22 million deficit and a bullet-point list displaying “organizational restructuring” and “layoffs,” among others. No vaguer words and phrases exist.
Previously, university administration made it clear budget issues would not impact students directly. After today’s information drop, that’s an incredibly tough pill to swallow.
In the memo, Green outlines a list of possible strategies to reach said goals. It’s important to note the list is “by no means comprehensive,” so additional strategies may likely appear or not go through altogether.
Whether it’s eliminating academic programs or leaving vacant positions unfilled, every strategy seems to imply a direct, albeit vague, impact on students.
However, as Green references in the memo, there is no feasible alternative to reducing expenses — as tuition, state appropriations and taxpayer dollars bring in 94% of UI’s general education budget, according to the memo.
The problem lies in the communication channels between the university and its Moscow inhabitants.
Green mentions an open forum next week where Moscow community members can discuss the issues raised in Wednesday’s memo. Those not in Moscow can attend via Zoom. If attendance is low, it’s a blessing to UI administration and a slap in the face to those trying to hold the university accountable.
But we cannot demand transparency if we don’t take advantage of the few opportunities we have.
At the end of the day, the burden falls on students, who need to pay attention and ask the questions no one else can — or will.
Green concludes the memo by saying, “Together we will work through this challenge and come out braver and bolder for our efforts.”
How can we — the 11,926 UI students directly impacted on a daily basis by each and every change — possibly work through a challenge many know nothing about?
Having open and honest conversations shouldn’t even be a consideration. Students need as many outlets as possible to get the information they need — starting with their president and ending with their campus newspaper.
— Editorial Board