{"id":100667,"date":"2023-06-23T01:57:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-23T06:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=100667"},"modified":"2023-06-22T20:26:57","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T01:26:57","slug":"carter-unveils-plan-to-address-budget-challenges-accelerate-university-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2023\/06\/23\/carter-unveils-plan-to-address-budget-challenges-accelerate-university-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Carter unveils plan to address budget challenges, accelerate university success"},"content":{"rendered":"
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University of Nebraska President Ted Carter Thursday unveiled a bold plan to reimagine Nebraska\u2019s public university system during one of the most significant periods of change and challenge in the history of American higher education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter\u2019s plan comes in response to a directive last month from the Board of Regents<\/a> to build a strategy for balancing the budget while enhancing the university\u2019s competitiveness in research, faculty pay and student recruitment and success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The university faces an estimated $58 million shortfall by the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year, a gap brought on by inflation, muted revenue growth and enrollment declines. That figure represents only what it would take to maintain the university\u2019s current status quo; in other words, it leaves nothing for new strategic investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a special meeting to review NU\u2019s fiscal planning, regents rejected the historical approach of spreading budget reductions across the board, saying that risked weakening the entire university. Rather, the board directed Carter to chart a new path of setting system-wide priorities and redeploying dollars accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan Carter announced Thursday includes both short- and long-term action steps to close the budget gap and free up additional resources to transform the University of Nebraska into a more competitive, collaborative, efficient and flexible institution. The 2023-24 University of Nebraska operating budget approved by the Board of Regents Thursday, including a\u00a0modest 3.5% tuition increase<\/a>\u00a0and investments in salaries and financial aid, lays the groundwork for Carter\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe University of Nebraska is more important than ever to the economic growth and well-being of our state. We must find ways to reinvent ourselves so we continue to meet Nebraskans\u2019 needs well into the future,\u201d Carter said. \u201cAs the Board of Regents has made clear, given the challenges in front of us, business as usual is no longer sustainable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have hard work ahead, but Nebraskans expect us to compete in all facets. My vision is that the University of Nebraska will be the most dynamic university in the country. This plan will help us get there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, Carter announced the following short-term steps, effective July 1, to help preserve cash while longer-term strategies are implemented:<\/p>\n\n\n\n