University Business - February 2009 - (Page 15)

$16Million s tat s W at C H DATA P O I N T —The amount of salary saved by the University System of Maryland through five-day employee furloughs. —The Baltimore Sun Revenue-Boosting Responses to Tough Times As the fAll 2008 semester wrApped up, privAte college And university presidents surveyed by the national Association of independent colleges and universities (nAicu) were asked about the impact of the economic crisis on their institutions. not surprisingly, there are worries. But presidents are being proactive in protecting the financial health of their institutions as well as ensuring that they remain affordable options in the higher education marketplace. nearly all of the 371 member institutions completing the survey named fundraising declines, protection of endowment value, and maintaining student enrollment among their most pressing concerns. nearly half of responding presidents were anticipating a 1 percent to 10 percent decline in enrollment for this semester, with 7 percent expecting a decline of 11 percent or more. securing student loan availability and reducing the cost of institutional debt also rated highly as pressing concerns. As would be expected, institutions are in cost-cutting mode, with about half taking measures such as freezing new hiring (50 percent), slowing down current construction/renovation projects (49 percent), restricting staff travel (48 percent), or giving smaller than usual salary increases (42 percent). more than one-third are delaying maintenance, and about one in five are freezing salaries or canceling planned construction/renovation projects. they are taking a number of revenue-increasing steps as well. more than two-thirds of respondents said they were planning to increase tuition for 2009-2010 (on the other hand, 5 percent reported having frozen or considered freezing tuition levels). nearly as many are focused on increasing enrollment. Borrowing funds and selling assets are the least popular revenue boosters among those surveyed. when asked to comment on revenue-increasing steps, respondents mentioned adding online offerings to reach new markets and retain current students wanting to cut down on travel costs, increasing the usage of facilities during the summer, removing tuition guarantee programs, and considering borrowing funds through a bond arrangement. the complete survey questions and responses are available in pdf form; enter http://tinyurl.com/8kaksq to begin a download. —M.E. Speaking Up If collegeS and UnIveRSITIeS aRe supposed to teach discourse, why do so many have speech codes contrary to the first amendment? That is the underlying question of the third annual report from the foundation for Individual Rights in education (fIRe). This year’s “Spotlight on Speech codes” reviewed policies at 364 higher ed institutions and found that 74 percent have unconstitutional codes. The good news: This is down from 75 percent last year. “The distinction is, universities can ask students to be civil, but they can’t require it,” explains Samantha K. Harris, fIRe’s director of speech code research. She points out that as government entities, public IHes are required to support the first amendment. Private institutions are judged based on their own stated commitments to free speech. Harris says unconstitutional policies are usually changed after they are highlighted. although fIRe might be seen as an antagonistic group, Harris offers assurances that the organization is more than happy to help higher ed leaders develop compliant codes. She believes good codes, rather than the threat of discipline, encourage students to aspire to a higher level of discourse. The full report is available at www.thefire.org. —A.M. 0.0 0.2 February 2009 | 15 Needing the Dough: Institutional Actions Revenue-Increasing Step Percent Taking* Increased tuition 69% Increased (or attempted to increase) enrollment 65% Created new academic/extension programs or continuing education 41% 9% Borrowed funds 7% Sold assets 7% Other 0 10 20 30 40 SOURCE: NAICU, www.naicu.org *Includes both those who have already taken these steps and those who are planning to take them during this or the next academic year 50 60 70 80 universitybusiness.com 0.4 0. http://tinyurl.com/8kaksq http://www.naicu.org http://www.thefire.org http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - February 2009

University Business - February 2009
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Behind the News
Viewpoint
Sense of Place
Independent Outlook
Wireless Windfall
Share and Share Alike
Achieving the Turnaround
Internet Technology
What's New
End Note

University Business - February 2009