Rutgers’ Budget Woes Felt Across the Board
Officials say they’ll find new ways to ensure diversity efforts don’t fall victim to cuts.
By Dana Forde
Budget constraints have forced Rutgers University, the largest public research university in New Jersey, to cancel 451 classes, increase tuition, layoff 185 employees and cut several programs, including minority recruitment programs. However, planning for a new series of general education requirements with courses involving diversity will continue.
More than 50,000 students who attend the university’s three campuses — in Camden, Newark and New Brunswick/Piscataway — are faced with an 8 percent increase in tuition for the second consecutive year.
“It’s already hard for me to figure out how to pay for school,” says 19-year-old sophomore Turquoise Bagwell. The Neptune, N.J., native says she was alerted to the tuition hike over the summer via an e-mail from university officials. She decided to take out two additional student loans and is currently looking for a part-time job. But she says she’s not convinced that she can handle the additional responsibilities.
“I have to keep at least a C average to keep my financial aid,” Bagwell says. “I don’t know how I’m going to handle it.”
The cuts are a result of the state budget signed by recently elected Gov. Jon S. Corzine in July. New Jersey faces a $4 billion deficit, and higher education will share the pain with a $30 million decrease in its $2.11 billion budget for 2007, says Mark Perkiss, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Treasury. Rutgers is already adjusting to a $66.1 million shortfall this year as a result of the state’s budget problems.
To compensate for the loss, the university implemented a combination of budget cuts and program reductions that are expected to save approximately $50 million, says Rutgers spokesman E.J. Miranda. Final decisions about which courses to cut were made at the departmental level. School officials first combined courses with multiple sections, creating fewer but larger classes.
