St. Cloud State University announces proposed cuts of up to $9 million

ST. NUAGE, Minn. — One of the state’s largest universities plans to move forward with significant faculty and program cuts.

In a letter to Saint Cloud State University university community, interim president Larry Lee announced proposed cuts that could reach $9 million by 2026.

“The higher education landscape is facing unprecedented challenges – declining student enrollment, affordability issues, proliferation of higher education alternatives, public perception of degrees academics and financial difficulties…among other things,” Lee wrote in the letter sent Monday evening. “These decisions are painful; yet they are necessary so that SCSU can continue to fulfill its mission.”

In an interview with WCCO, Lee further described the proposals and explained that they include eliminating approximately 13 percent of administrative and academic positions; The proposed cuts will also reduce the number of major and minor areas of study from 136 to 90.

Despite the large number of completed programs, Lee maintained that 91 percent of students are enrolled in the remaining 90 fields.

“Any impact is significant, but in the general sense it is a minor impact,” Lee told WCCO. “But it allows us to better align our resources with the programs that students have been exposed to and are interested in. This allows us to provide an even better experience in the future.”

Lee said he will ultimately make the final decision on how to move forward with the proposals — but only after consulting with faculty and staff. He hopes to make those decisions by the end of June.

His letter comes just days after he became interim president and succeeded Robbin Wacker, who will remain in a ceremonial role until the end of July.

Lee’s position will also be temporary, however, with the arrival of interim president-elect Larry Dietz later this summer.

Among the 33 colleges and universities in the public system, Bemidji State is the only other institution operating in the red.

Bemidji State has worked to close its deficit through increased enrollment and student retention, according to a spokeswoman, and these are largely due to the North Star Promise Scholarship and the American Indian Scholars program; the school has also seen an increase in fundraising while working directly with faculty on tightening budgets.

At St. Cloud State, Wacker told students and faculty in 2023 that the university faces difficult decisions ahead and proposed a series of faculty and programming cuts. They included closing the School of Public Affairs and abandoning dozens of areas of study.