Life University trims budget by $4 million
Student exodus prompts cuts; layoffs certain
Mary Macdonald - Staff
Friday, August 16, 2002
 

The exodus of students from Life University has prompted its interim president to cut another $4 million from the budget, an amount that will require another 30 layoffs.

The university also expects to sell six properties, including administrative and storage buildings, undeveloped land and probably the public clinic in north Marietta, said interim President Michael Schmidt.

His announcement Thursday in a student assembly came three weeks after his decision to kill the $2 million athletics program, which eliminated 18 positions. The university has about 500 employees.

The university has struggled to regain its financial and academic footing since June, when it lost accreditation of the chiropractic program.

Accreditation continues while an appeal is pending before the Council on Chiropractic Education. That decision is expected sometime in the next few months.

Schmidt urged students Thursday to remain optimistic. "We're still going," he said. "Keep the faith."

But the uncertainty at Life has unnerved many students. The chiropractic program had 2,600 students in May. It now has 1,800 and Schmidt said that number could drop another 10 to 30 percent in September.

If the university cannot regain accreditation, students cannot sit for national board exams that are required for a license to practice. If the university loses the appeal, it will immediately apply to re-establish its accreditation.

That start-up process could take between six months and two years, Schmidt said.

Despite this, some students said they remain confident. If the university becomes a smaller place, so be it, said Karen Bowden, a chiropractic student from the Saskatchewan province of Canada. "In order for the changes to be made, there has to be cuts. I understand that," she said. "Even if we do have to pare down, it will still be an exceptional school."

Altogether, Schmidt said he expects to cut $6 million from the university's $38 million operating budget, to counter the loss of tuition from students who have left the beleaguered chiropractic program. The sale of the properties could generate $6 million, which would be put in reserve, he said.

So far, the cuts have not come in academics. And the university has made plans to offer more courses in some areas, including physiotherapy, to meet accreditation concerns.

But some part-time and full-time faculty may begin to lose their jobs within weeks, depending on how many students return for fall quarter in September, he said. Placement services will be provided for those employees. Schmidt spoke to faculty and staff about that prospect last week. "People seem to be understanding what's happening," he said. "They know the cuts are coming."