The University of Texas at Arlington is offering buyouts to some employees in an effort to save money as the school navigates funding concerns, officials announced Monday.
UTA President Jennifer Cowley cited changes at the federal level as reasons for offering payouts to employees who agree to resign or retire effective May 31.
“There are challenges ahead,” Cowley wrote in an email to faculty and staff. “Amid significant shifts in federal funding and policy, we must adapt — both to preserve funds that support our mission and to enable us to respond to future challenges.”
A university spokesperson declined to answer questions asking how many employees were eligible and the anticipated level of participation.
Those participating in the phased retirement program will return on a part-time basis. Faculty members may teach up to two courses per semester as adjuncts for up to two years. Staffers, who must be invited in order to participate, return for up to one year.
Employees have until 5 p.m. Feb. 23 to opt into one of the two separation agreements.
The public university is facing financial strain from a drop in international students and in the loss of federal grant funding, Cowley said in a September speech. International students are more likely to pay full tuition costs than their peers.
UTA officials braced for a $44.2 million drop in revenue this fiscal year, according to a University of Texas System budget document.
That included a potential $13 million to $15.6 million decrease in tuition revenue and $1.1 million drop from mandatory fees from the year prior.
The loss of in-state tuition eligibility for Texas’ undocumented students and declining international students enrollment were driving the revenue drop, according to the budget plans. In June, state leaders agreed to end a decades-long program that offered in-state tuition to students without legal immigration status.
Enrollment data from the fall semester showed a 30% decrease in international graduate students from the year prior, lower than the 40% drop projected in the budget.
UTA instituted a staff hiring freeze and paused salary adjustments during the summer in an effort to save money.
In a June email to the campus community announcing the freeze, Cowley wrote that “additional cost-cutting measures could be necessary as we continue to monitor federal funding and other key factors.”
McKinnon Rice is the higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at mckinnon.rice@fortworthreport.org.
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