ST. CLOUD (WJON News) - St. Cloud State University is facing a budget deficit of more than $18 million in the 2022-2023 school year. As a result, the university has made some hard decisions.

SCSU has proposed a reduction of 37 employees (23 faculty and 14 staff) in the 2024 school year, as well as the elimination of several majors and graduate programs.

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Officials have released a list of the proposed program cuts:

Majors

  • Philosophy, BA
  • Philosophy Interdisciplinary, BA 
  • Real Estate, BS 
  • Theatre and Social Change, BA 
  • Insurance, BS 
  • Nuclear Medicine Technology 

Master’s

  • Marriage & Family Therapy, MS 

 Grad Certificates 

  • Marriage & Family Therapy 

 Minors

  • British Studies 
  • Ethics 
  • Ethics Interdisciplinary 
  • Philosophy 
  • Philosophy Interdisciplinary 
  • Religious Studies 
  • Theatre 

SCSU, along with many universities nationwide, is dealing with a significant enrollment decline. Research has found the student population at SCSU has dropped by almost 50 percent since 2010.

Officials say the budget deficit has several reasons:

  • A decline in the number of graduating seniors over the past decade.
  • Inflationary increases in the cost of operations.
  • Decreases in state and federal funding.
  • High instructional costs to deliver programs.

SCSU Vice President for Finance and Administration Larry Lee says the changes should put the university on a better track.

We are acting now to build a budget on firm footing and using our ‘It’s Time’ vision we are developing a multi-year plan to reposition the university for a bright future.

Additional research shows only 37 of the 157 degree programs at the university enroll over 75% of the undergraduate students. At the graduate level, 24 of the more than 80 graduate programs account for 75% of the student population.

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