Photo caption: Shepherd University, a small, public university in the Eastern Panhandle, is the latest West Virginia higher education institution to announce that it has made staff reductions and program changes in an effort to deal with its debt. (Shepherd University photo)
The university is trying to address a $6 million structural deficit through what it called ‘rightsizing’
BY: AMELIA FERRELL KNISELY – SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 3:54 PM
Shepherd University, a small, public university in the Eastern Panhandle, is the latest West Virginia higher education institution to announce that it has made staff reductions and program changes in an effort to deal with its debt.
The university is trying to address a $6 million structural deficit in the next two years through what it called “rightsizing.”
“The outlook is very positive,” university administrators said in a statement on Friday.
The announcement comes on the heels of hundreds of job cuts at West Virginia University, the state’s largest public university, amid millions of dollars of debt.
At Shepherd, a presentation from university President Mary Hendrix said its Board of Governors Finance Committee directed the university to identify $3 million in cost savings in personnel for fiscal year 2024.
“For FY2024, we have had to cancel or delay: 44 staff positions, four administrative positions [and] 16 faculty positions,” the presentation said.
The university, which has roughly 3,200 students, will need to find an additional $3 million in cost savings for 2025 in order to address the deficit.
Shepherd University administrators declined interview requests for this story.
According to the leaders’ statement, which university administrators sent in response to questions from West Virginia Watch, the university has also undergone an “academic reorganization.”
“ … It went from a four-college to a three-college structure and some departments were consolidated. This resulted in savings,” the statement said.
An ongoing review of degree programs “to determine which are of the most interest to students” is underway, and results will be shared after the review process concludes.
“No decisions about whether program changes will be made until the review process is finished,” the statement said.
It continued, “No faculty have been laid off or notified of an intent to eliminate their positions as of this date. The Academic Program Prioritization process will proceed and it is premature to speak to its outcomes.”
The school, which was founded in 1871, is one of several West Virginia universities struggling financially due to the nationwide college enrollment decline and an increase in operating costs. The state’s declining population hasn’t helped, either.
And, the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy pointed out that the state Legislature hasn’t kept funding higher education at the same level it did a decade ago.
According to a 2022 report from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, non-operating revenues at state universities decreased $100.8 million, primarily because state appropriations decreased $53 million and investment income decreased $119 million over the previous year.
Pandemic relief dollars helped offset some of the decreased funding, the commission said.
West Virginia University is dealing with a $45 million deficit and has cut more than 200 positions and dozens of majors at its Morgantown campus to address the shortfall. Marshall University, which has seen an enrollment increase, has a $28 million structural deficit; its leaders hope to make the school in Huntington profitable by 2027.
In August, Alderson Broaddus, a private university in Philippi, announced it would have to close due to millions of dollars of debt.
“All institutions are looking at their finances and examining whether they’re operating efficiently and offering programs that students need and want,” HEPC Chancellor Sarah Armstrong Tucker said in an email on Friday.
Shepherd University announced in August that it planned to close its Martinsbrug campus in December. The Shepherdstown Chronicle reported that the university operated the center “at a net loss of about $300,000.”
The university did see an increase in applications for the fall semester — a 12% increase from fall 2022 — and enrolled its largest freshman class since 2018.
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