Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1944 [PAGE 126]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

1942]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

123

Subsequent to the distribution of Memorandum 256, two releases have been received which have a bearing on the budget problem. T h e first of these is a communication from the State Department of Finance setting forth the policies of the Governor and the Department with respect to the budget for the coming biennium. (See page 124, below.) T h e second is the recent executive order of the President of the United States, issued October 3, 1942, stabilizing salaries, wages, and prices. T h e actions of the University Council as contained in Memorandum 261 involve substantial reductions in the original requests of deans and directors and are intended to take account as fully as possible of conditions as they now stand. Enrollment Data and Prospects: Enrollment of students has shown a considerable decrease in the past two years, as shown by the following data, and further decreases are predicted. Total Enrollment Percentage DePercentage (including crease from Decrease extramural) Previous Year from 1940 November 1, 1940 (highest in the UniverT sity's history) 4.!34 •• • November 1, 1941 13,060 7.6 7.6 October 1, 1942 11,5781 9.1 1 18.1 1 It may seem inappropriate to propose an increase in the total operating budget of the University in the face of this decreased enrollment. T h e following facts and conditions, however, have a bearing on this situation: (1) Decreased enrollment has resulted in decreased income from student fees. T h e internal budget for 1041-1942 was decreased by $85,500 because of this fact, and the budget for 1942-1943 was further reduced for the same reason, so that the actual educational budget for 1942-1943 is $57,998 less than authorized by the appropriations made by the State for the current biennium had all income materialized. ( T h e gross operating budget is not decreased proportionately because of increase in agricultural sales and operations of auxiliary enterprises which, however, do not provide funds for the general educational budget.) (2) While the actual teaching staff has been reduced substantially in proportion to the decrease in enrollment, this reduction falls largely in the lower salary brackets. T h e total teaching staff of the Urbana departments in 19401941 represented 818 persons on a full-time equivalent basis. T h e corresponding number for the current year is approximately 740 persons, a decrease of 9.5 per cent. The budget for 1943-1944 as presented provides for a full-time equivalent of approximately 710 persons in active teaching status in the Urbana departments. This is a decrease of 4.2 per cent in the staff since 1940-1941. (3) While the reduction in enrollment represents an over-all decrease of 18.1 per cent since November I, 1940, the decrease in the Chicago divisions, where the expense of instruction is highest, is only 1.0 per cent. In view of pending military service and man-power legislation which will affect practically all male students in all universities sooner or later, it is impossible to make any accurate or even approximate estimates of what the enrollment will be in the fall of 1943. Consequently, the only basis of comparison with the peak enrollment of November 1, 1940, is the 1942 enrollment. Furthermore, high enrollments still prevail in all technical divisions such as engineering, physics, and chemistry. (4) Expense of physical plant operation and maintenance not only cannot be decreased but is increased because of higher scales of wages and higher scales of prices for coal and other commodities. W a g e rates of the various groups of employees in the Physical Plant Department have increased between 15 and 20 per cent since December, 1940. T h e delivered cost of coal for the Urbana departments is 42 per cent higher than it was in 1940. (5) A substantial portion of the budget of the University is devoted to activities other than instruction of students. T h e work of the Agricultural and Engineering Experiment Stations and of numerous other research agencies continues substantially as before.

'These figures are subject to correction to November 1 basis when figures are complete.