President Ruud: UNI fall enrollment looking better

CEDAR RAPIDS - A one-time allocation of $10 million from the state and encouraging fall enrollment numbers point to a more stable budget this year at the University of Northern Iowa, with no expected staff reductions or program cuts, President Bill Ruud said Tuesday.

It's possible UNI even will see enrollment growth after two years of declines in fall 2011 and fall 2012, Ruud said during a meeting with The Gazette editorial board.

"We are a little bit ahead compared to this time a year ago," Ruud said of the most recent fall projections. "We're cautiously optimistic that enrollment is going to exceed our budgeted numbers."

In putting together the 2013-14 budget, UNI officials planned for fall enrollment of 11,800, a decline of more than 470 from fall 2012. But Ruud on Tuesday said that was a conservative projection for budget planning purposes, and he said it's possible UNI's enrollment will be stable or may even increase this fall.

That's important because each additional 100 students increases net tuition revenue by about $550,000, UNI officials said.

The special one-time allocation of $10 million from the state will be split by UNI officials, to use $6 million this year and $4 million next year, Ruud said. UNI also this year received an additional $2.1 million in state appropriations to the permanent base general fund, bringing the total to $8.1 million in new state money this year. But if enrollment drops this year, as it did last year, UNI will be faced with a tuition revenue decline, coupled with an increase in salary and benefits costs.

The hope is that fall enrollment will be enough to cover any shortfall, said Ruud, in his second month as UNI president.

"We're very confident with current enrollment projections that we will be able to make our budget this year and that we will not have to do any kind of major cutting," he said.

UNI officials want to eventually grow enrollment back to the 13,000 to 13,500 students range, Ruud said.

"We're going to become very aggressive in the state of Iowa and the surrounding states in getting students to come," he said.

A state Board of Regents committee will look at the budget allocation process to UNI, the University of Iowa and Iowa State University. Ruud, a member of that committee, said that review is "very, very timely" for UNI, which faces different budget challenges than the UI and ISU because of heavy reliance on in-state students, who pay less in tuition.

Distributing state dollars on a 40 percent, 40 percent, 20 percent basis to the UI, ISU and UNI may turn out to the be the right model, but it doesn't take into account the variables of the three universities, Ruud said.

"We may come out the other end with a very positive new way of doing it that all three universities can agree upon," he said. "That would be my hope."

Ruud, who came to UNI after a tumultuous final year for former President Ben Allen after significant budget cuts, said he has felt welcomed on campus. Keeping open communication with faculty leaders and other groups is a priority, Ruud said.

"There is very much an optimistic can-do attitude of moving forward," he said.