The U has announced more administrative cost-cutting. This from Tim Post: The University of Minnesota has announced plans to eliminate its Office of Academic Administration to save money and streamline operations. The move is expected to save the university $1.6 million eliminate five and a half positions. President Eric Kaler’s chief of staff, Amy Phenix, says Read more →
Minnesota State University – Moorhead President Edna Szymanski tells The Advocate student paper why the university is phasing out its continuing studies department, which handles public-outreach programs: “Right now, this university is supported 64 percent by your tuition; for that reason, I can’t continue anything that doesn’t either benefit you directly, or in someway, generate a Read more →
MPR Public Insight Network member Brent Ristow, once a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin – Stout in Menomonie, said a recent faculty e-mail he received indicates unexpected cuts are coming soon: TO: UW-Stout Faculty and Staff via electronic mail FROM: Charles W. Sorensen Chancellor DATE: October 18, 2011 RE: Additional State Budget Cuts The Read more →
Gov. Mark Dayton gave a campaign-style speech yesterday to Education Minnesota in which he trashed the state’s recent higher-education cuts. From MPR’s Capitol View blog: Dayton called deep budget cuts to the University of Minnesota and MnSCU system “terribly misguided, terribly stupid, terribly short-sighted decisions” that could have been worse if union members like those Read more →
Remember how some have questioned St. Cloud State’s decision to close down its aviation program because of low demand? Critics say the slump appears to be ending, and that now there’s actually a growing demand for commercial pilots. I’ve stumbled across a U.S. News & World Report that seems to agree, ranking pilots among its list Read more →
When states cut spending on higher education, it’s not just a matter of colleges doing more with less. The consequences appear to go much further. The long decline in state funding for higher education — lasting a couple of decades or more in some states — appears to have caused or accelerated some major changes Read more →
“We’re trying to make it so that people don’t see the effect.” – Minnesota State Community and Technical College CFO Pat Nordick on what school officials are cutting to deal with an 8.5 percent budget reduction (its share of MnSCU’s 10.5 percent cut). It won’t shed programs, but will reduce the number of classes in program such Read more →
Last week I wrote about Minnesota State University – Mankato’s aviation program and its potential contract with the Chinese government — apparent success amid news of closures of aviation programs at St. Cloud State and the University of Illinois. Is international business the way to go? Is Mankato doing something right? I was hoping to Read more →
Alex Friedrich