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College students can expect potentially bigger class sizes and fewer offerings in the coming months.
As the national economic tide drops, universities and colleges around the state are bracing for cutbacks due to the decrease in tax revenues coming in to state government.
State leaders earlier this fall asked for a 4 percent cut by Utah's colleges and universities, which are now anticipating more. At Salt Lake Community College, they're preparing for potential future budget shortfalls of up to 10 percent.
School administrators say they don't know how many positions that represents, but they're evaluating the future of 12 underperforming programs. They may cap enrollment but have no plans to raise tuition.
"We're doing everything in our power to not increase tuition. Our students are very price sensitive, and the Legislature and we've been very direct that tuition is a last resort," explained Kimberley Henrie, senior budget officer at Salt Lake Community College.
The governor's office says it expects future cuts in many agencies, but it isn't prepared to give specifics.
"We have a constitutional obligation for our budget to be in balance, so it's something we need to be proactive about," said Lisa Roskelley, spokeswoman for Gov. Jon Huntsman.
Statewide, the vast majority of money spent by Utah colleges is on employees. A higher education cut of 5 percent would represent roughly 500 employees around the state.
With the anemic economy, many Utahns are going back to school. Enrollment is up 8 percent.
State colleges say they're prepared to do their part but worry deep cuts could damage long-term prospects for the state's economy.
"It really puts the universities in a squeeze play at just the time that the state's economic base needs the universities to help pull out of this economic downturn," said Bill Sederburg, Utah Commissioner of Higher Education.
One college facing tough decisions immediately is Snow College. A Snow College spokesman tells us school administrators announced cuts to employees today. He says specific numbers won't be made public until tomorrow.
E-mail: jdaley@ksl.com
