February was a tumultuous month for higher education as President Donald Trump’s agenda began to take shape. His barrage of executive actions threatened federal funding and created uncertainty for colleges, prompting some to freeze hiring and others to pause graduate school admissions.
Even wealthy institutions like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University enacted hiring freezes last month, while Northwestern University paused both hiring and compensation increases, in addition to other moves.
Some institutions were more severely affected by the Trump cuts than others. Federally run tribal colleges like Haskell Indian Nations University and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute lost multiple staff members as the Office of Personnel Management laid off many probationary employees.
But the cuts below are not tied to Trump—at least not directly.
The latest installment of Inside Higher Ed’s monthly roundup of personnel and program cuts at colleges finds those changes largely propelled by financial issues tied to the usual suspects: declining enrollment and rising operational costs.
Catholic University of America
Facing a $30 million structural deficit, the Washington, D.C.-based institution has eliminated 16 positions in the Center for Academic and Career Success and is transitioning to a faculty advising model.
The position of vice president for student affairs was also cut, and CUA has launched a voluntary faculty separation program for full-time faculty with 10 or more years of service, according to an email from President Peter Kilpatrick that was obtained by Inside Higher Ed.
A reorganization of CUA’s colleges is also planned.
“While the specific form of these changes continues to evolve through consultation, the need for substantive reorganization and consolidation is certain,” Kilpatrick wrote in an email to campus.
One former employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, questioned the rationale behind cuts to advising. They told Inside Higher Ed that faculty are already overworked and underpaid and expressed concern about advising responsibilities, which they believe were better left to the ousted advisers.
CUA confirmed 16 job cuts within the Center for Academic and Career Success to Inside Higher Ed but did not address other personnel reductions.
Western Washington University
Officials at the public four-year institution in Bellingham have expanded a plan to lay off employees.
Initially, the university planned to cut 55 jobs, but that has now grown to 74, Cascadia Daily reported. Three dozen of those 74 positions targeted for elimination are currently vacant.
The cuts are in response to an $18 million budget deficit. WWU has thus far shaved off $13 million, but the remaining $5 million means that even more cuts could be on the horizon.
“At this time, we are still working to identify reductions for the remaining $5 million gap. While we are making significant reductions now, our financial position will continue to evolve based on state funding and enrollment trends. More changes may be necessary, and we will provide updates as soon as decisions are made,” officials wrote on a frequently asked questions page.
Columbia-Greene Community College
Grappling with financial challenges, the college in Hudson, N.Y., laid off 17 employees late last month as part of a sustainability plan, The Daily Gazette reported.
Additionally, 11 tenured faculty members accepted retirement incentives.
A college spokesperson declined to provide specifics, calling the layoffs a human resources matter, but told the newspaper that affected positions include faculty, staff and administrators.
Spring Hill College
Six majors and nine faculty members are on the way out at the private, Catholic college in Alabama, which dropped academic programs and cut jobs as part of budget cuts, WKRG reported.
The TV station reported that enrollment dropped by almost 25 percent in recent years, from 1,200 before the coronavirus pandemic to 920 currently, though numbers are trending up for this fall.
The majors cut were biochemistry, chemistry, history, philosophy, secondary education and studio art. A studio art minor was also eliminated.
Tuskegee University
An unspecified number of employees have been laid off at Tuskegee University, WSFA reported.
The private, historically Black university in Alabama declined to specify the number of layoffs, but the TV station reported that employees told them the job cuts arrived abruptly—giving them little time to clean out their desks—and affected personnel in the university’s veterinary program.
“Tuskegee University is always exploring opportunities to provide a stellar academic experience for our students,” university officials said in a statement. “Staffing adjustments are part of that process. These adjustments did not include academic leadership and are minimal in number.”
Our Lady of the Lake University
Amid a “realignment” process, the private, Catholic institution in San Antonio plans to cut academic programs and faculty jobs, though specific details have not been released, Texas Public Radio reported.
“As part of the realignment process, some academic programs will be discontinued and we will modify some academic programs,” university officials wrote on a frequently asked questions page about the coming changes. “We will also reduce some full-time and part-time faculty positions. Some programs have had dwindling interest from students, to the point where they are no longer viable as stand-alone degree plans. Others are trending in that direction.”
The university cited the need to boost enrollment, following recent declines. Though not mentioned on the FAQ page, OLLU has also faced significant legal expenses in recent years due to a 2022 data breach that affected nearly 42,000 employees and resulted in a settlement.
Franklin & Marshall College
Cuts are coming this spring to the private liberal arts college in Pennsylvania, LancasterOnline reported.
Franklin & Marshall president Barbara Altmann wrote in a message to employees that the move was “one piece of a strategic financial sustainability plan.” She added that the college has already made various efforts to trim expenses, including by eliminating vacant positions.
Job cuts are expected in April, though an exact number has not been specified publicly.
“Although the plan is not yet finalized, we are evaluating potential cuts to provide more stability for the entire community going forward. This plan will need to include a reduction in workforce, meaning the strategic elimination of some employee positions, rather than relying on attrition,” Altmann wrote in an email published by LancasterOnline.
Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville
Due to a budget deficit of more than $10 million, cuts are expected to both academic programs and jobs at Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville, The St. Louis-Post Dispatch reported.
In an email to campus, Chancellor James Minor wrote that the university “is not in a financial crisis” but has “long-standing structural imbalances in our budget that must be addressed.”
That plan will include possible changes to academic programs, early retirement incentives and the “consolidation, reduction or elimination of some positions,” according to Minor’s email. Early retirement incentives will be rolled out this spring.
Minor did not specify a timeline for job and program cuts or a target number of reductions.
