Trending
MARSHALL -- Last week, the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities warned that campuses could close as the system tries to address budget pressures.
Minnesota State said it's expected that one in four of its 33 institutions will trigger the system's financial health warnings.
In a statement, Minnesota State said it is launching a strategic realignment effort that will "evaluate how administrative services, facilities, and academic offerings can be structured and aligned to strengthen financial stability, operational effectiveness, and academic offerings."
It's not known yet how institutions like Southwest Minnesota State University will be affected, but SMSU President David Jones said Tuesday that "there's definitely some anxiety" on campus.
"There is a lot we don't know," Jones said.
The news comes at a time when Southwest Minnesota State University is set to inaugurate Jones as its new president. The inauguration ceremony is Thursday, and the university's annual homecoming celebrations are this weekend.
Minnesota State Chancellor Scott Olson told the Independent Tuesday that there are no details yet on how individual schools or campuses will be affected by the strategic realignment.
Olson said representatives have been named to two working groups to look at different aspects of a redesign, as well as to an overarching task force. The groups will report back to the Minnesota State Board of Trustees in January.
"This is the beginning of working with communities, with employees, with students, to determine how to balance our budget," Olson said.
The Minnesota State system has 33 colleges and universities, spread across 54 campuses. The system has 270,000 students and 14,000 employees, Olson said.
Jones said there isn't a lot of information yet on how a realignment of Minnesota State could impact SMSU. Although SMSU has seen increases in enrollment in recent years, Jones said they have also faced rising costs.
"We have continued to be financially challenged," he said.
Jones said SMSU has triggered the Minnesota State system's criteria for financial health warnings in the past three years, based on factors like the university's composite financial index score and its level of reserves.
Jones said he appreciated that the Minnesota State chancellor and board were taking steps to try and address budget concerns across the system.
Olson said one possibility that Minnesota State could consider in a realignment would be consolidating some of its institutions. That could happen through alignments, where separate institutions share the same administration, or through mergers where two colleges or universities come together under a single name, he said.
"Part of what we're trying to do is to ensure programs are available to all students everywhere," Olson said.
Another possibility for Minnesota State would be to demolish unused buildings across the system, he said.
A large portion of Minnesota State's budget is employee costs, Olson said. However, he said that in looking at a system redesign, the goal was to consider possibilities like reducing employees through attrition or offering early retirement incentives, rather than layoffs.
Jones said that, in discussing a realignment of the Minnesota State system, Olson was "very clear" that there were going to be fewer campuses across the system. However, Jones said he didn't foresee physical changes coming to SMSU in the future.
"I feel very confident about us serving southwest Minnesota," Jones said.
While he acknowledged the struggles SMSU faces, Jones said the university also has a lot of positive things moving forward.
"We've got some serious challenges, but we can work on them together to find our own path forward," Jones said.