SUNY's College of Environmental Science and Forestry faces unique financial pressures compared to other schools in the system that make it difficult to close a $6 million structural budget gap. The college has few options to cut costs or raise revenue.
One of the ways most private colleges boost revenue is through tuition increases. But ESF president Joanie Mahoney said they can’t do that without legislative approval.
“A $7,000 annual tuition makes it difficult to balance the books," she said. "I hope conversations like this prompt thinking on the part of the legislature about whether it is possible to have a differential tuition.”
Mahoney said ESF’s programs are more expensive to run than more traditional schools like SUNY Cortland or Oswego. She said ESF doesn’t have the liberal arts majors that draw hundreds of students into a large lecture hall with one faculty member.
“All of our programs are expensive to deliver because they require small classes, labs, and expensive lab equipment," she said. "We have a wonderful partnership with Syracuse University and our students ESF pays for those classes in a way that the other state-operated campuses don't.”
One way Mahoney is trying to close the budget gap is by offering early retirement. SUNY said faculty and staff growth has outpaced enrollment. Matthew Smith said there's a reason. He's director of College Libraries at ESF and chapter president of United University Professions, the union representing faculty.
“Why has our staffing increased? Services that we used to get in- kind from Syracuse University, we've been priced out or cut off of those," Smith said. "So we've had to build entire departments that we've never had before."
He's worried staff reductions will undermine the quality of their programs. Smith said they’re reaching out to students and alumni to rally support.
“This is a campus of advocates. So they will be heard because they came here for a reason," he said. "It's the culture here. It's the job placement rate. It's the relationships they build on campuses. It's the favorable salary they're going to get. By all those measures, we're doing things right.”
Smith said he just wants the top brass at SUNY to take notice of the unique challenges and properly fund ESF.
