During this critical time, our five senates, and numerous university committees are essential to our success. The fluidity and urgency of this situation demands that we review policies and, in some cases, develop new procedures to give us necessary flexibility. A good example of that is the development and review of an interim furlough policy, which was reviewed by President’s Cabinet and Budget Planning Council (BPC) before being finalized. BPC has also weighed in on administrative realignment plans that have university-wide reach.

Similarly, as we consider any changes to academic program offerings or academic college structures, we will engage with Faculty Senate and seek feedback through Student Senate leadership. 

At the same time, departmental-level decisions, including personnel reduction decisions, will be made at the department level in consultation with the appropriate Dean or Vice President. Decisions impacting academic units will be reviewed by the Provost prior to implementation and decisions impacting administrative units will be reviewed by the President prior to implementation.
 

The majority of the institution’s operational costs are in its employees, and we must address the largest share of our budget while we simultaneously strategically plan for the future of our great University. As such, we do not have plans for additional reductions in the coming weeks, however we want to be transparent that we will continue to evaluate the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our institutional revenue as well as our enrollment trends and make changes as necessary to protect the future of the institution.

While some impacts of the pandemic will be short term, others will carry with us for years. If we see enrollment impacts for fall, for example, those impacts will not only impact next fiscal year but the four subsequent years as that smaller class moves through the academic journey. In addition, Ohio University was already planning the use of reserves to bridge budget reductions over several years in response to changes in enrollment. If we make no changes to our expenses, our reserves simply will not be enough.

First, the President and Provost, along with all Vice Presidents and Deans, will be taking voluntary pay reductions. Second, the University’s FY21 Furlough Plan utilizes a tiered structure with greater pay reductions for employees with higher salaries.
However, balancing our budget through a total restructuring of our compensation model that introduces a salary cap is not a viable option for several reasons:

1. First and foremost, it would not save enough money to balance the budget. Across-the-board deep salary cuts to employees in the highest salary brackets would simply not save enough to balance the budget.
2. A salary cap would greatly damage our ability to recruit top talent – not just administrative managers but also top researchers, competitive faculty positions and physicians.
3. Dramatically reducing salaries would require changes to HR policy. Under our current guidelines, salaries can only be reduced through demotion or reorganizations in which we terminate one position and create a new one that is open to applicants at a lower salary.

Athletics was required to model budget reductions that reduce its institutional funding support. Athletics currently receives approximately $19.8 million annually in institutional support. Approximately $9 million is used for financial aid for student athletes. If the other $10.8 million was cut in its entirety, it would contribute only in a small way toward our financial challenges, as it represents only 1.4% of our total University budget. It would, however, have dramatic impact on our student and alumni experience – impact that would change who we are as an institution and have unseen ripple effects on institutional revenues.

That said, in the wake of the MAC decision to suspend fall sports competition until the spring, University Athletics has placed further departmental restrictions on unit and sport operating budgets and has implemented extended furloughs of our staff. Of 84 full-time staff members in Athletics, 56 administrators and coaches will take extended furloughs lasting one month (i.e. two pay periods). This represents 66% of the ICA staff and impacts all 16 varsity sports and all administrative units except the Sports Performance team, which is comprised of athletic trainers and strength and conditioning staff who are responsible for managing COVID-19 protocols for student-athletes during their sports training periods.

Donors typically designate private donations to the University for a targeted purpose, be it a facility, a particular school or college, or a specific chair or program. Those funds, while extremely important to our educational mission, cannot be used to supplement the University’s operating budget.

Gifts to the university are vital to our funding structure and are used to leverage other revenue sources. But gift funds in no way lessen the importance of maintaining a strong financial base of support from the state, from tuition, and from research dollars.
 

A furlough was instituted for fiscal year 2021, which began on July 1, 2020. This measure will be applied to all administrative, faculty and classified non-bargaining employees. To minimize the impact on employees in our lower pay bands, an interim furlough policy was developed. See the FY21 Furlough website, including a listing of frequently asked questions.

Yes, Ohio University has received funding through the CARES Act. However, that funding can only be used to directly assist students who can demonstrate  pandemic-related financial hardship and to cover the cost of direct expenses such as personal protective equipment, implementation of safety measures, and testing and quarantine needs. CARES funding cannot be used to offset revenue losses.