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Midway College terminating some of its faculty to balance budget

Enrollment down 18 percent

MIDWAY, Ky. (Sept. 10, 2013) — Midway College announced Tuesday that it will terninate some of its faculty members in order to balance the budget for the fiscal year 2013-14.

Midway College
Midway College

“Our enrollment for the fall came in under the budgeted projections (approximately 18 percent decline in enrollment) and this greatly impacted our bottom line,” said Dr. John Marsden, paresident of Midway College since February 2013. “The enrollment drops were across each area of the college and shortfalls were in both recruitment of new students and retention of existing students. As an institution that is so heavily dependent on tuition revenue, cuts have to be made. After exhausting all other options, some faculty contracts will be eliminated from this fiscal year in order to balance the budget.”

The board of trustees granted the administration authority to terminate some faculty contracts. Notices to those faculty members impacted will begin next week. Some staff positions already have been eliminated in July and August prior to the start of the academic year because of overstaffing issues and resizing for best fit.

Since taking over as president in February of this year, Marsden has been working to build a new leadership team, balance the budget and look at all operational aspects of Midway College. Since July, a new provost, vice president for development and dean of enrollment management have been hired. The search continues for a new chief financial officer.

In addition to terminating some faculty contracts, the board also voted to suspend the employee retirement match for the remainder of this academic year. In the previous fiscal year, all employees received a 5-percent salary increase that began January 2013.

“Although a difficult decision to make, we felt that suspending the retirement match would be an equitable measure and less impactful to our employees,” said Donna Moore, chair of the Midway College Board of Trustees.

“It is essential for us as we are preparing for our re-affirmation visit from SACSCOC in 2015 that we have a balanced budget,” Marsden said. “Our enrollment management team is working to continue recruiting students for this academic year and is putting more effective recruitment plans in place for the coming years. In addition our academic affairs office is working to address the issue of retention and student services.”

Marsden said his team is focused on moving the institution forward by implementing “best practices” across campus in all areas; refocusing efforts on the women’s college experience; and working to ensure a student-focused approach to the institution. Work is also underway for finalizing a new strategic plan for the institution to establish both short- and long-term goals for the institution.

“I’m hopeful that we will soon begin making more positive announcements on the progress we are making,” Marsden said. “It is never easy to make personnel cuts, but all this is being done for the long-term benefit of the college. I am asking all of our staff and faculty to continue to remain focused on our students and provide them with the best educational experience possible.”