Florida State University hiring freeze, WCTV (Tallahassee)

October 31, 2008

The Florida State University president, T.K. Wetherell, yesterday announced he would put a hiring freeze into effect for the university.

T.K. Wetherell says that FSU is working with 25 million dollars less than they had last year. He also estimates that number could jump to 70 million dollars in the 2009 school year. With 80 percent of the university's budget in personnel alone, a decision has been made to put a freeze on hiring new employees.

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FSU's Wetherell to seek tuition increase; takes shot at BOG, Tallahassee Democrat

By Stephen D. Price
October 30, 2008

Florida State University is under a hiring freeze and officials will lobby lawmakers to raise tuition for next fall if legislative budget cuts become too severe.

Those were some of the issues FSU President T.K. Wetherell spoke on Thursday during his state of the university address at the 2008 Fall Meeting of the General Faculty.

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Bridght Futures prospects look dim, Gainesville Sun

By Nathan Crabbe
October 8, 2008


The Bright Futures scholarship program should be phased out over the course of a decade, state Sen. Steve Oelrich said Wednesday to a University of Florida community group.

Most UF students use the program despite a lack of financial need, said Oelrich, a Cross Creek Republican who chairs the Senate Higher Education committee.

Nearly 95 percent of freshmen use the scholarships to pay for tuition, while the most recent statistics show the median income of all UF students' families is around $100,000.

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Budget cuts squeeze Florida State U students, CBS

July 7, 2008

Following the June 13 Board of Trustees budget ratification meeting, Florida State University has begun initiating changes in order to cope with the recent $32 million loss in state funding.

"We've come up with several ways to reduce expenses," said FSU English Department Chair Ralph Berry. "We've eliminated office telephones for all of our TAs and for about one-third of our faculty and we've begun to ration paper and photocopying."

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Caught off guard -- But Why? Inside Higher Education

Jack Stripling
June 24, 2008

When the bottom fell out, where were the disaster plans?

As the economy took a dive in the first half of this year, and states started slashing budgets, higher education leaders were often left scrambling. Unsure where to cut their budgets on short notice, university officials turned to predictable — though not always strategic — solutions:

Vacant positions went unfilled.

Tuition hikes were approved.

Enrollments were frozen.

The latest economic downturn, which has left a host of state universities grappling with major shortfalls, is part of an ongoing cycle of ups and downs that have a familiar feel in higher education. And yet, precious few institutions plan — at least publicly — for how to deal strategically with such budget deficits when they inevitably arrive.

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FSU will help workers face high cost of living, St. Petersburg Times

By Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler
June 16, 2008TALLAHASSEE — The leaders of Florida State University are so worried about the faltering economy's impact on employees that they're pushing forward with plans to help their lowest-earning workers pay for food and gas.

Meanwhile, the ambitious research institution is still investing in superstar professors and at-risk students.

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Universities need more than good ideas, Tallahassee Democrat

Mary Ann Lindley
June 15, 2008

Ina few years, we may not recognize higher education in Florida. The community colleges are newly authorized to offer four-year degrees, for example, a concept that will make a college education more convenient and less expensive for students.

This may help ease the disappointment for some high-school grads who wanted to go to Florida State but were among the roughly 2,000 turned away for this fall. The university is chock-full because of chronic underfunding by the Legislature.

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FSU plans for lost revenue, Tallahassee Democrat

By Stephen D. Price
June 11, 2008

Florida State University will unveil its strategy to grapple with $32 million in lost state revenue at its Board of Trustees meeting Friday.

Officials say they've been working on a budget-slashing plan for some time.

"Recognizing the revenue crisis that was looming in the state, the FSU administration, trustees and Faculty Senate Steering Committee began to look at options a year and a half ago to soften the inevitable financial blow," said FSU president T.K. Wetherell in a statement.

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FSU cuts enrollment, jobs to cover $43 million budget shortfall, Orlando Sentinel

By Luis Zaragoza
June 10, 2008

Florida State University plans to cut enrollment, eliminate 250 jobs and reduce some student services to cover a $32 million loss in state funding. FSU trustees will consider the cost-cutting measures when they meet Thursday and Friday in Tallahassee. The enrollment cuts work out to 2,000 fewer students this fall than would typicall be enrolled. That's about 1,200 freshmen and 800 transfer students not getting in. FSU President T.K. Wetherell said the university had to close its doors to some students "to ensure the ones already here would receive the education they deserved." The University of Central Florida has been making some spending cuts as well because of declining state revenues, but has not released a summary of losses as FSU did today and the University of Florida and the University of South Florida have done recently.

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