Tennessee College Cutting Staff in Wake of Declining Enrollments
The Higher Education Bubble continues to burst.
This time, a Tennessee college is slashing positions in the wake of declining enrollments.
Bryan College in Tennessee is eliminating 20 full-time employee positions as it faces enrollment decline, The Times Free Press reported.
School President Stephen Livesay announced Friday that 20 of 173 full-time positions will be cut through layoffs and attrition. The school is also halting retirement contributions for a year, and imposing salary cuts on top administrators.
These cuts come shortly after some faculty members have already quit in protest over changes made to the evangelical college’s statement of faith and as Bryan Colleges grapple with financial woes.
In an email sent to faculty and staff, Livesay said the cuts were due to dwindling enrollment, according to The Times Free Press. He said the small incoming freshman classes in fall 2012 and fall 2013, along with this spring’s graduation of the college’s largest-ever class, resulted in a projected enrollment decline of 100 students.
“In addition, Bryan, like other small, private colleges that are dependent on tuition, is experiencing a difficult environment,” he wrote. “Higher education, in general, is facing challenges including the national decline in high school graduates, more families who are unable to pay for their children to attend college, and a decrease in the amount of government aid.”
In addition to cutting 20 staff positions, Livesay said top administrators, including himself, will also take a pay cut. He also plans to downsize the executive cabinet and halt contributions to staff retirement accounts for the fiscal year.
Bryan College Faces Enrollment Decline, Cuts Positions (University Herald)