Facing a $60 million shortfall, the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, says it is eliminating 215 jobs, increasing some tuition and fees, and outsourcing dining services.
University President Scott L. Scarborough says the three-year financial plan comes after a nine-month review of the school’s money woes.
“The University of Akron’s future is bright, but first we need to fix its finances,” Scarborough says in a news release. “Our review indicates UA has a $60 million financial problem, and we have developed a three-year plan to solve that problem.”
The plan calls for $40 million in spending cuts. Among the cost-saving steps: eliminating 215 positions via a planned reduction in workforce; eliminating baseball; outsourcing dining services; renegotiating healthcare plans; and increasing the cost share of retiree dependent coverage.
No faculty members will be laid off, Scarborough says.
The rest of the shortfall is to be made up with a $10 million increase in graduate school tuition and undergraduate fees, and a $10 million gain from projected enrollment growth in the third year of the plan.
Scarborough says the plan will enable the University of Akron to carry out “initiatives to grow future revenue streams, and includes funds to hire the faculty who will keep out university strong.”
