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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Faced with a projected $377 million funding gap over 10 years, the University of Tennessee has put together a plan that could mean some tough choices ahead for the school and its students.
On Thursday, the UT Board of Trustees endorsed a plan presented by President Joe DiPietro that would increase revenue but could mean big changes.
Under DiPetro's plan, the university is going to take a hard look at realigning low-performing programs or potentially shuttering them.
"I can't say how likely that is," Gina Stafford, a spokeswoman for the UT system, said of the possibility of closing some programs. "But if you have followed it at all, the president has said that there will be some tough decisions that will be made and some things that people will not like."
It's not clear what those programs could potentially be.
Pietro has said that Gov. Bill Haslam's proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year is favorable to the school, and it's rare to have such strong support. But the plan is a reflection that school officials don't believe they'll get that same level of support through the next decade. The president has not wanted to make up the funding gap on the backs of the students by raising tuition, she said, so the school had to come up with an alternative plan.
Options include increasing enrollment of out-of-state students who pay more, increasing tuition costs for students in certain degree programs and making students at the campuses in Chattanooga and Martin take at least 15 hours to be considered full-time.
The school will also review the tenure process.
"That's one of those things where all options are on the table," Stafford said of the examination of tenure.
The changes will be implemented in the next two fiscal years, and some will begin as early as July, when the new fiscal year begins.
The $377 million projected funding gap is based on average 3 percent inflation, static tuition increases, increased operating costs as a result of inflation, salary increases and deferred maintenance of $25 million annually.
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