DAN QUAGLIANA
Special to The Leader
There is an open secret around campus that SUNY Fredonia is running a budget deficit. In a nutshell, this means that the university is spending more money than it brings in.
According to a WKBW article published on Dec. 22, 2022, “the UUP [United University Professions] says the projected deficit at Fredonia is $16.8 million.”
Why is this happening? In short: declining enrollment.
Fall 2021 was the first semester that could be considered to be “after” COVID on campus. Yes, masks still had to be worn at the time, but other than that, most operations went back to normal. Classes were (mostly) in person, and nothing on campus was closed for health reasons. Enrollment, by everyone’s guess, would start increasing after this sense of “normalcy” returned. And yet, that didn’t happen.
According to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, the total enrollment for the Fall 2021 semester consisted of 3,764 students. These enrollment statistics were achieved through a series of interconnected surveys conducted annually by a subdivision within the United States Department of Education. However, the total enrollment for the Fall 2022 semester was only 3,553 students, according to Executive Vice President and Provost Dr. David Starrett. These numbers include both undergraduate and graduate students.
Clearly, the university is experiencing declining enrollment, which is feeding our growing deficit. This is the main reason why the contract with Tim Hortons could not be renewed to keep their on-campus location open; the costs were simply too great to justify the rewards. So what is being done about this?
Enter the Strategic Planning Committee. The Strategic Planning Committee is a special board that has the sole purpose of creating a plan to provide “direction and focus” for SUNY Fredonia, according to committee members. This plan, which is aptly named the Strategic Plan, is committed to recruiting and retaining students, faculty and staff, which is something the university sorely needs.
The Strategic Plan has five goals, which the committee hopes to accomplish through a variety of methods. As mentioned in the framework draft document, the first of these goals is to establish, embrace and support SUNY Fredonia’s distinctive identity, and to enhance SUNY Fredonia’s standing as a place of destination. The second is to create both a dynamic Academic Master Plan and a Program Health Initiative. The third is to increase financial sustainability and stewardship to have better long-term fiscal accountability. The fourth goal is to further promote diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging within the academic programs in the community. The final goal is to better prioritize and promote well-being in all areas within campus facilities and operations.
But outside of a dry list, what does any of this mean? I spoke with the aforementioned Dr. Starrett to try and improve student understanding of the plan. In his words, “Strategic Plans are pretty standard in higher education. They are road maps for implementing institutional visions. [Having] a strategic plan always helps guide resource allocation.” The university cannot just magically decide to fix its budget problems. Something is needed to help guide faculty and staff, and that’s exactly what this plan is.
The good news is that this plan “will be completed this year,” according to Dr. Starrett. “It is a 5-year plan that should run [from] 2023 to 2028.”
Dr. Starrett is one of the 11 members on the Planning Committee. The other members of the committee include, in no particular order:
Interim Director of Budget Ann Aldrich
Executive Director of Enrollment Services Cory Bezek
Professor of Music Composition and Interim Chair for Theatre and Dance Dr. Rob Deemer
Associate Professor of Psychology Dr. Lisa Denton
Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dr. Andy Karafa
Executive Director of Student Engagement Khristian King
Multimedia Team Leader for Information Technology Services John McCune
Director of Annual Giving Jennifer Michelak
Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Dr. Vicki Sapp
Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Tracy Stenger
Director of Marketing and Communications Jeff Woodard