The University of Nebraska–Lincoln must cut approximately $27.5 million from its budget by the end of 2024, according to a letter penned Monday by UNL Chancellor Rodney Bennett.
“I want to acknowledge the significance of the challenges we are facing, as well as the cumulative effect of repeated budget processes that extend beyond financial impacts and into areas like employee morale,” Bennett wrote, acknowledging budget challenges facing the entire NU system. “Our revenue has not kept pace with expenses. This is due to a combination of downward trends in state appropriations, net tuition and campus allocations combined with historically high inflation of health care costs as well as property and liability premiums and utilities.”
In order to dig out of this hole, Bennett is prescribing UNL focus on growth of revenue from net tuition, including new enrollment and retention, as well as new and continuing extramural grants and contracts. He says UNL will also review academic programs for potential elimination or mergers…