Dive Brief:
- Christian Brothers University plans to cut 16 full-time faculty positions at the end of its spring semester as it tries to balance its “operating budget and position CBU for transformation,” Interim President Chris Englert said in a public message this week.
- Englert specifically noted the Catholic nonprofit was not eliminating any academic programs and “students will be able to complete their declared majors with minimal disruption.”
- Earlier this month, the Tennessee university announced that its accreditor had lifted its probationary status after two years after it made major cuts to reduce its deficit.
Dive Insight:
Christian Brothers has undergone a long and at times painful restructuring as it tries to right its finances.
In fall 2023 — as it faced as much as a $7 million deficit — the institution declared financial exigency, a process that distressed colleges invoke that allows them to lay off tenured professors and wind down programs.
In doing so, the university cited a “consistent decline” in undergraduate enrollment since the 2018-19 academic year and a failure to meet its first-time freshman goals for fall 2023. Between 2018 and 2023, undergraduate fall enrollment declined by just over 30% to 1,204 students, according to federal data.
In October 2023, the university cut several high level-administration positions to reduce its deficit by $1 million.
By December 2023, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges put Christian Brothers on probation over concerns about its financial stability and governing board practices. Later the same week, the university eliminated 28 faculty positions through both layoffs and cutting vacant roles. It also nixed a dozen programs with low enrollment, including English, history, ecology and engineering physics.
By last fall, the university sounded a more optimistic note. Leaders said it was poised to come off probation with SACSCOC after increasing its first-year student enrollment and reducing its budget deficit by nearly half to $2.5 million in May 2024.
It took another year for Christian Brothers to officially come off probation. In a Dec. 9 message, Englert described the event as an “important milestone for our institution and a direct reflection of the dedication, hard work, and integrity demonstrated by our faculty, staff, and trustees.” At the same time, he noted the university would have to remain academically and financially strong to stay in compliance.
Englert repeated that sentiment this week when announcing the further faculty reduction. He also framed the cuts as a step toward a faculty-to-student ratio target of 12-to-1, as well geared toward long-term financial stability and “ongoing academic alignment efforts and in response to shifting enrollment patterns.”
The university is still struggling with maintaining its enrollment, with its student body falling by roughly a third from 2024 to 2025, according to the Daily Memphian.
