Budget cuts—followed by tuition increases and staff layoffs—at Duke, Cornell, Johns Hopkins and Harvard universities midway through the spring semester sent shockwaves through the higher education community as the sector copes with challenging deficits.
Their struggles proved to be the canary in the coal mine for further announcements from more than a dozen colleges and universities through the summer.
“This is a day of loss for all of us,” wrote four executive leaders from Boston University as they announced 120 staff layoffs last week. “Over the coming months, there will be many efforts to reshape and reimagine the university in its most efficient and vital form.”
Faced with escalating operational costs and mounting budget deficits—each shaped by distinct institutional circumstances—higher education institutions have adopted a range of difficult measures. They stem from a variety of factors, including the Trump administration’s cap on indirect research funds and termination of federal contracts, decreased state allocation, as well as long-term revenue pressures intensified by declining enrollment, inflation or a combination of economic forces.
More from UB: June closings—Siena Heights won’t ‘be the last’ small college to close
Six major research universities announced budget cuts in June, Forbes reports. Three of them are public flagships, such as the University of Nebraska system, which is expected to cut $20 million in funding for the 2026 academic year and raise tuition by 5%.
“As stewards of the University of Nebraska and of the public trust, we have a responsibility to manage every dollar with discipline, care and transparency,” President Jeffrey Gold said in a statement.
Two major state universities in Indiana and Pennsylvania recently announced plans to downsize or consolidate their academic footprint. Indiana University-Bloomington will be suspending or eliminating 100 academic programs after state lawmakers passed a policy that will examine the minimum number of graduates per degree, The Bloomingtonian reports.
Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education announced a new course-sharing initiative that will allow students to take advanced or specialized courses from other system universities.
Staff layoffs in higher education
Unable to manage mounting budget deficits, some higher education institutions have had to implement staff layoffs. Here are some of the latest institutions to do so:
- University of Southern California – July 14: Interim President Beong-Soo Kim said USC would require layoffs to mitigate an operating deficit of over $200 million.
- St. John’s College (Md.) – July 9: cut staff positions by 5% due to declining enrollment.
- Boston University (Mass.) – July 7: announced it will lay off 120 staff and 120 vacant positions amid “federal funding uncertainties, pressures from inflation, and concerns around changing demographics of student bodies.”
- George Washington University (D.C.) – July 8: likely staff reductions and hiring freezes to address rising expenses
- Utica University (N.Y.) – July 1: will cut $5 million through non-faculty layoffs
- Whitman College (Wash.) – June 25: 10 staff members laid off following $3 million budget deficit
- University of Oregon – June: 42 staff—including 11 faculty members—laid off in the College of Arts and Sciences. More layoffs and furloughs are expected to address a $25 million budget deficit university-wide, Oregon Live reports.
- Columbia College Chicago – June 18: laid off 20 full-time faculty to manage $38 million budget deficit
- Clark University (Mass.) – June 3: 30% of faculty and 5% of staff will be laid off due to enrollment and financial challenges
