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Baylor University Cutting Budget by up to $80 Million Due to Coronavirus

Baylor University Cutting Budget by up to $80 Million Due to Coronavirus

“one of the first disclosures from a major Texas university that it is slashing spending in response to the pandemic”

The school is anticipating a drop in enrollment in the fall.

The Texas Tribune reports:

Baylor University announces up to $80 million in budget cuts in wake of coronavirus pandemic

Baylor University is cutting $65 to $80 million from its budget for the fiscal year that starts June 1, anticipating a dip in enrollment due to the coronavirus.

Baylor President Linda Livingstone’s announcement Tuesday is one of the first disclosures from a major Texas university that it is slashing spending in response to the pandemic. In a statement, Livingstone said the virus has slowed the private university’s income and increased students’ dependence on financial aid.

“In other words, most of our previously reliable sources of revenue, tuition, research grants and contracts, fundraising and income from our investments and endowment will almost certainly be significantly affected,” Livingstone said in a statement.

Jason Cook, a spokesperson for the university, said it is too early to know what cuts will be made, but they will stretch across the entire university, including “colleges, schools, administrative units and athletics.”

Cook said the university will prioritize the well-being of its 17,000 students.

“That will be the next step in the process,” Cook said.

He said the school is particularly dependent on enrollment to keep its budget balanced.

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Comments

If a big-name school like Baylor is getting impacted like this, you can be sure that many colleges of all sizes are facing some very difficult times come fall. Hardest hit will be the smaller colleges that were already struggling. I retired last year from a state university that is in very bad shape. Campus enrollment has taken a nosedive from 8,700 to 5,300 in just the last four years. Before the virus panic, fall 2020 enrollment numbers were already looking bad; now they’re looking devastating.