FY2015 Budget Reduction Process

Chancellor announces budget-reduction proposals

March 17, 2014

UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman has announced proposals for reductions to the Fiscal Year 2014-15 university budget to address a projected $4.65 million deficit.

The proposals, which were made public March 17, are outlined within the Budget Reduction Items, Budget Reduction Process Allocations and Descriptions, and Budget Reduction Spreadsheet.

If enrollment increases result in revenues that exceed expectations, a full or partial reinstatement of the salary pool will be explored for January 2015, according to the chancellor's proposal.

The proposals now go to the Academic Planning Committee, or APC, for review. The APC will then hold hearings on the proposals and make recommendations to the chancellor.

This is the 11th time since 2001 that the university has worked through a combination of budget reductions and required reallocations. The current deficit is the result of four factors: a $2.2 million budget deficit in the last fiscal year that was carried forward; a scheduled reallocation of $800,000 within the Board of Regents-approved budget for Fiscal Year 2014; maintenance and operating costs associated with opening new buildings; and a bigger-than-expected proportional growth in online student credit hours taken by resident students.

Campus administrators and deans are working to restructure distance education funding to continue to grow online instruction but to allocate a larger portion to support the base budget.