https://www.wdsu.com/article/university-of-new-orleans-announces-layoffs-and-building-closure/61733004
2 replies (most recent on top)
Inside Higher Education...
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/business/cost-cutting/2024/08/05/declining-enrollment-fafsa-issues-drove-more-cuts-july
Massive cuts, layoffs and building closures are in store for the University of New Orleans.
More than 70 jobs will be eliminated by the university for the upcoming year.
This layoff comes after a historic downsize in enrollment, where 17,000 students once attended the school, and now that number is just over 6,000.
The gap between the tuition revenue from the current student population and budget expenses has gotten too large to ignore.
An incoming transfer student from Miami, she said she enrolled at UNO for the one-on-one attention she thought she would get at the university due to its small classroom size, and now, she's not so sure if she'll get that luxury.
"With a lot of layoffs, there's going to be bigger classrooms. And with bigger classrooms comes more disconnection, comes more, you know, distractions," said Christina Roque.
President of the University of New Orleans, Kathy Johnson, says the quality of learning is always a priority for the university and would not be jeopardized to bring the school out of a 15 million dollar deficit.
"We are seeking to preserve our mission as a student centered research university and minimize any cuts that would have any sort of impact on our students," Johnson said.
The importance of the university is critical for the city and boasts programs that specialize in job growth.
Isabella Dearmes is a sophomore at Loyola University in New Orleans and says UNO is integral to the community's well-being.
"UNO is one of the most important schools that we have in New Orleans," Dearmes said. "They should be worried about going into the future with trying to figure out how to better budget with what they have."
According to the UNO president, more layoffs are expected to come throughout the upcoming school year, and the athletic department is also going to make significant cuts as well.
The building that will be closed is Milneburg Hall, which houses political science and government classes and is one of the oldest buildings on campus.