The University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) will begin the 2008-2009 fiscal year with fewer employees, a casualty of the reduction in state funding being experienced by public colleges and universities across the state.
KCTCS is eliminating a total of 240 jobs. KCTCS President Michael McCall said the cuts will affect each of the system’s 16 colleges and include 97 full-time faculty, 69 full-time staff, 43 part-time faculty and 31 part-time staff.
UK is handling the budget cuts by freezing pay for faculty and staff and eliminating 188 positions. However, all but 15 of those positions – which are staff positions – are currently vacant.
In response to the tight budgetary environment, KCTCS President Dr. Michael McCall has introduced a leadership initiative designed to focus the organization’s efforts on re-engineering KCTCS’ workforce education and training divisions, launching a virtual learning initiative entitled KCTCS Online, and increasing the number of transfer students to four-year institutions.
The goal of the workforce competitiveness initiative is to enhance KCTCS’ capacity to meet the state’s current and future job needs. Specific activities include the implementation of three workforce partnering initiatives, the establishment of a management/supervisory institute, and the establishment of workforce competitiveness teams at each college.
The KCTCS Online initiative will provide flexible workforce educational opportunities for Kentuckians by offering 24/7 online degree programs. Plans for the 2008-09 academic year include the rollout of both a Business Administration and Information Technology program.
Add Comment