NC State Faces Multi-Million Dollar Budget Cut

By: NBC17 Staff | MyNC
Published: January 18, 2011

RALEIGH, N.C. --

North Carolina State University is looking to cut almost $80 million from its budget.

NCSU Chancellor Randy Woodson said it looks as though the 15 percent cut is not a one-time reduction rather, "a long-term readjustment to our state funding."

Chancellor Woodson Releases Video Message About Budget

"Our Governor and state legislators are beginning the task of responding to the state's drastic budget shortfall of almost four billion dollars," Woodson said. "It's not an overstatement to say this is the most difficult budget challenge the state and the university have faced since the great depression."

As a result of the cuts, Woodson said "everything is on the table," which could results in the consolidation of colleges, elimination of degree programs and the cancelation of some courses.

Among the recommendations Woodson says he will hand down to Provost Warwick Arden and Vice Chancellor Charles Leffler is the consolidation of "select academic units in an effort to reduce administrative cost and improve synergy in the delivery of academic programs and research opportunities."

Woodson also recommends that "all low-enrolled courses and academic degree programs and under-subscribed majors and minors" be reviewed for possible elimination.

"We cannot and should not be all things to all people, given the capacity of other universities in the UNC System," Woodson said. "We also will need to bear in mind that on Friday, UNC President Tom Ross initiated a study aimed at streamlining the university's academics by looking for ‘unnecessary duplication.'"

Other recommendations handed down by Woodson include:

Consolidating decentralized business services into service centers distributed throughout the university campus.
Reviewing the delivery of student support programs distributed across various units of the university in an effort to ensure the university is providing the best service possible to promote the academic success of students.
Reducing organizational bureaucracy by reviewing university policies, rules and regulations.

A plan will be delivered to Woodson for approval by March 15, at which point the University will develop a formal timeline with a July 1 launch date.