NDSU provost warns of possible cuts due to $6M in lost revenue from enrollment decline

Forum file photo By Robin Huebner Today at 5:01 AM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? FARGO — The chief academic officer at North Dakota State University has alerted the campus of possible budget cuts in the works. Provost Shari Veil sent an email to all NDSU faculty and staff earlier this week, saying a decline in student enrollment this fall will mean $6.1 million in lost revenue for the university. ADVERTISEMENT The email, dated Monday, Nov. 2, called the circumstance a financial reality that must be addressed. “We cannot absorb a shortfall of that size indefinitely without making changes,” Veil wrote. The university shared the email with The Forum Thursday but said no one was available for further comment. Forum file photo NDSU's fall 2026 enrollment was 11,609, representing a 2.9% decline or loss of 343 students. The previous three years, the university reported steady if not identical enrollment at 11,952 students. Veil said a recent enrollment summit showed much of the decline came from students who were previously enrolled but did not return. “Some were not academically prepared, some faced financial barriers, and others did not feel sufficiently welcomed or connected and chose to continue elsewhere,” she wrote. More than 70% of first-year NDSU students bring transfer credit with them to NDSU, averaging 19 credits each. ADVERTISEMENT Those credits are often earned in high school through dual-credit and other opportunities, meaning courses students once routinely took after arriving at NDSU may already be done before they get to campus, Veil said. That means that in addition to recruiting more students, NDSU must examine its curriculum, course offerings, programs, staffing and resources, the note to staff said. The examination will start with a comprehensive look at the budget, followed by an analysis of data involving academic staffing, instructional activity, enrollment, program demand and other measures. “That analysis will help us identify where resources are appropriately aligned and where adjustments may be necessary,” Veil wrote. She said NDSU may consider policies related to non-renewal, termination or dismissal of faculty, depending on what the analysis shows. “I share this not to alarm anyone but because our campus deserves transparency about the challenges we face and the range of actions that may ultimately be necessary,” she wrote. NDSU has been down this road before, not long ago. ADVERTISEMENT In October 2022, then-President David Cook said a $10.5 million cut in state funding was on the way due to continued enrollment declines, forcing major realignments in university programs. With declining enrollment comes a decline in student credit hours, which determine the amount of state funding each college or university receives. Weeks later, Cook announced a plan for NDSU to merge some of its academic colleges and departments, and eventually eliminate some majors and programs. Then in January 2023, he outlined details of the NDSU Transform plan, aimed at dealing with $7.6 million in funding reductions for the 2023-2025 budget biennium. It called for reducing seven academic colleges to five, cutting more than 34 full-time positions — including some tenured faculty — and eliminating or “teaching out” as many as 24 degree programs. Forum file photo In her email this week, Veil said NDSU Transform started the important work of aligning NDSU’s academic portfolio with student demand, workforce needs, and available resources. “We need to continue that work rather than wait for enrollment or financial pressures to make decisions for us,” she wrote. Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags NORTH DAKOTA NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY HIGHER EDUCATION GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS By Robin Huebner Huebner is a 35+ year veteran of broadcast and print journalism in Fargo-Moorhead. 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