URI looks for ways to combat energy costs, deficit in fiscal year '09

09/09/08 - It's been almost a month since the university announced that it would have to take measures to offset rising energy costs and a remaining deficit in the school's budget, but possibilities of a four-day academic week or mid-year tuition increases are still being discussed. In an interview last month, Vice President of Administration and Finance Robert Weygand said the university has no choice but to lay out all of its options on the table to make up for this year's personnel reduction costs, a $3.1 million increase in workers' benefits, compensation and sick leave, and National Grid's $1.3 million worth of increases.

About $700,000 from unexpected increases in enrollment will offset some of the costs, Weygand said, but it's not enough.

While some University of Rhode Island students think the idea of a four-day academic week in the spring semester would be a well-received move by the university, senior Lauren McKay is not too pleased with the prospect.

"I can see how some people like the idea of a four-day academic week, but I think this is going to make classes longer and cram everything in," she said.

McKay, an English major who hopes to graduate in December, said she's happy she's getting out before she sees that kind of change in the academic schedule, or worse - a mid-year tuition hike, which is also being discussed as an option.

"My friends are livid," she said. "It's already expensive to go to this school. I transferred in from a college in Texas where I went from paying $5,000 a year to $14,000 here."

A four-day academic week would not mean fewer classes offered at URI or a cut in professors' salaries, Weygand said. The option, URI administrators hope, would save them money in operational costs and utilities.

"Will that be enough? Well, that's the kind of thing we have to take a look at when going through our options," Weygand said.

The idea of a four-day academic week cannot be directly credited to URI - colleges like Meridien Community College in Mississippi and Calhoun Community College in Alabama have already taken on the four-day schedule - though both institutions cited gas prices as their incentives.

In a May press release, MCC President Scott Elliott said continuing the four-day academic week from the summer into the fall will help students cope with the increase in the cost of living.

"We're trying to be responsive to our students' needs," Elliott said in the press release. "Of course, it's not just the price of gas. Almost any cost related to transporting goods is on the rise. The price of groceries is another glaring example. Most of our students commute to campus from around Lauderdale County and beyond. Therefore, if we can offer a schedule through which students can spend less on commuting, we feel that's a logical and appropriate thing to do."

URI's latest commuter data shows a little more than half of the total number of undergraduate students commute to the main campus in Kingston.

Another option the university is considering to ease the financial burden is a mid-year tuition hike. According to Weygand, the last time the university had a mid-year tuition increase was in 1992, when URI went through a similar financial crisis.

When faced with the possibility of more student transfers due to tuition increases, Weygand replied that the university's primary goal was not to change the opportunities for students.

"We're very concerned, we don't want to stretch ourselves too thin," Weygand said. "We are still going to deliver the things that we need to deliver in order for the university to function the way it has."

Even if the working week is reduced, he ensured that there would be the same number of classes and academic opportunities for students.

"Operationally, we're trying to save money," he said. "We're analyzing operations that could be stretched a little bit thinner, restructure our organization. Dining Services, Housing and Residential Life - these organizations aren't going to be affected by this."

Another option being discussed is shutting down the university for two weeks during Christmas break, but Weygand said these are all ideas that haven't even gone up for approval.

"None of these things have been approved for this year," he said. "These are just the many suggestions we're sifting through right now. We don't even know where we'll be financially in December."

Courtesy of the Warwick Beacon.