UNK slightly reduces amount of proposed budget cuts

After feedback from faculty and staff, the University of Nebraska at Kearney has decided to save one degree program that had been on the chopping block.

UNK Chancellor Neal Schnoor said Monday that the school will keep its bachelor of science in family science degree because of strong workforce demand in the state. The program will be realigned and transition to an online-only program. One position that was going to be cut as part of the degree elimination will be retained.

Schnoor said one position in the history department that had been proposed to be eliminated also will be retained due to the expected increased demand in the college’s online master’s degree program in public history.

All other cuts that had been proposed will go forward, including elimination of four other degree programs:

• Master of science in education
• Bachelor of arts in modern languages – German emphasis
• Bachelor of music – music business emphasis
• Bachelor of arts in education – modern languages 7–12 teaching endorsement – German emphasis.

Schoor said UNK is also moving forward with $2.3 million in operational, administrative and structural reductions, an amount that’s down slightly from the $2.4 million that was originally proposed.

Those include cutting seven full-time and one part-time employee at a savings of almost $560,000; cutting 20 graduate assistant positions at a savings of $250,000; cutting $200,000 in support for the athletic department; and cutting a vice chancellor position with a salary savings of almost $154,000.

The university also said it expects to save $2.2 million from a voluntary separation plan, which is also down from an initial estimate of $2.4 million in savings.

“Our shared governance process is essential to making thoughtful decisions in this challenging time,” Schnoor said in a news release. “I am grateful to everyone who took the time to engage, ask questions and share feedback. Their input, collaboration and innovation directly informed the final recommendations.”

Overall, the cuts were originally proposed to save $4.8 million altogether, but they now will save $4.5 million, which matches up with UNK’s expected budget deficit.

The UNK cuts are part of more than $40 million in reductions planned across the entire University of Nebraska system. Earlier this month, the University of Nebraska Regents approved $27.5 million in cuts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

In July, the University of Nebraska Medical Center said it would require each college and unit to reduce its budget by 4% for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. UNMC did not quantify how big its budget deficit is.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha reported the smallest budget deficit, at $1.9 million. Chancellor Joanne Li said in an email to the campus in August that she plans to deal with the gap through “internal financial management, such as identifying efficiencies and expanding revenue streams.”