Metro State President Stephen Jordan announced today that he will take a 3 percent cut in his annual salary for the 2009-10 fiscal year.
Jordan told the estimated 200 faculty and staff at the Town Hall Meeting in the King Center that he had made his request for the salary cut at the Board of Trustees Executive Session on May 6.
In response to Jordan’s announcement, the board released the following statement:
“The Board of Trustees wants to express to the Metro State constituency its appreciation to President Jordan for his excellent leadership of Metropolitan State College of Denver. Although we understand his proposal that he take a voluntary 3 percent cut in his annual salary for the 2009-10 fiscal year in view of the fiscal situation Metro State finds itself in, the board also wants it clearly understood that it is another example of his positive leadership and in no way represents the board’s assessment of his value to the College.”
A $9.9 million cut in state appropriations
The fact that Metro State is facing a 20 percent reduction in its state funding prompted Jordan to make the decision about his salary. He explained that while one-time federal stimulus money in this and the next two fiscal years will offset the reduction, the College is ultimately facing a $9.9 million cut in its base budget.
“We have two years to fully implement reducing our general fund appropriation budget,” Jordan said. He also cautioned that the state economic forecast in June could lead to further cuts by the legislature.
“First I want to be clear that I’m not targeting anyone or anything,” Jordan said, adding that he intends to maintain an appropriate balance to what the College offers, with a focus on retention and graduation rates.
The implementation of the Tier I, II and III reductions announced in February is a foregone conclusion, Jordan said. However, he added that he and the vice presidents are discussing options for buying back previously identified permanent cuts using other funding in their divisions and with tuition revenue.
Tuition
The College will implement a 9 percent increase in tuition for the fall 2009 semester, which will generate $4.7 million in revenues if enrollment is flat and a potential additional $3.7 million using enrollment growth projections of 6 percent for resident students and 10 percent for nonresidents.
Jordan said that, in addition, differential tuition rates, where higher-cost programs have higher tuition, are being “actively explored,” including differentials by school and between upper- and lower-division courses. Any differential rates would not be implemented until the 2010-11 academic year.
“Right-sizing”
In addition to Tier reductions and increasing tuition, Jordan listed capping enrollment and reductions and realignments in academic and nonacademic programs as ways the College can address the general fund reduction.
Among the strategies for capping enrollment that are being discussed are:
• enroll 500 fewer students by accepting for admission 1,124 few applicants
• align financial aid with academic progress
• place registration holds on students with 90+ credits who haven’t completed level I general studies
• do not accept transfer students who have not completed remedial work
Responding to a question about not shutting out people in the TRIO program, Jordan said there needs to be a window to allow judgments to be made. “It would be a mistake to have lockstep policies. We’ve all seen students we thought might not succeed blossom here and we don’t want to lose that hallmark. “
The issue of an enrollment cap is something that Jordan said would have had to be broached no matter what the budget situation is. “You know as well as I do we have essentially run out of space,” he said, adding that until the Student Success Building and Hotel Learning Center are built in three years, the College will need to hold enrollment flat.
He also announced that the College will move large components of the administrative staff in the Administration Building into 21,000 square feet of space in Writer’s Square. Faculty affected by the Science Building renovation will move to the Administration Building until the work is completed, and the departments moved to Writer’s Square will remain there until the Student Success Building is opened.
Jordan could be no more specific at this time about program reductions/realignments, as no decisions have been made. He did say, however, the primary use for the one-time stimulus money will be to fill two-year positions with consultants who can set up technology that the College can use to replace labor.
Personnel issues
While he is voluntarily taking a pay cut, Jordan said that the salaries of College employees will not be reduced. Likewise, there will be no base increases to salaries; however equity adjustments will still be implemented and salary increases for faculty promotions will be honored.
The president also said that he has no intention and no reason to institute furloughs. “It is not my preferred way to handle this,” he said.
The president made a particular point of saying that he fully intends to continue investing in and growing the full-time faculty. He said that he believes that the way that the 2001 budget cuts were handled by reducing the number of full-time professors contributed to the retention problems that the College is having today.
In response to a later question about affiliate faculty that was prompted by his stance on full-time faculty, Jordan said that the College will always rely on affiliates as a critical component of the College. He suggested that affiliates could be used to teach more upper-division courses so that full-time professors could move into lower-division courses where they could have a greater impact on student retention.
Winding up the meeting, Jordan said “We don’t have all the answers yet. We’re holding one-on-one meetings and working our way through this. I really appreciate your input, and let us know how we’re doing.”
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