Even a small number can create a big problem.
The college usually calculates its budget on a 92 percent retention rate from fall to spring. This school year, the retention rate was 88 percent.
Because more students than expected did not return after the semester break, the college now finds itself with a budget deficit of more than half a million dollars.
The toll that this deficit will be taking on the student population is an anticipated 5 to 5.5 percent tuition increase for traditional students this fall.
This is approximately $1,050 added to the current tuition of $20,849 for the average full-time student.
“The predominant reason we’ve been able to figure out is financial.” President Dan Lunsford said regarding the possible causes of drop in enrollment.
He said losses in scholarship funding have played a large role in the number of students who did not return to MHC between semesters.
Students who received a North Carolina scholarship called NC EARN lost an average of $2,000 each, because of withdrawal of the funding by the state, he said in an interview with The Hilltop.
Because of the drop in enrollment, the Board of Trustees will raise tuition and has instituted furloughs for faculty and staff to offset the decrease.
The furlough periods are mandatory unpaid vacation days that faculty and staff are required to take.
“We looked at options, and I did get absolute consensus that the very last option anyone wanted to utilize was laying people off,” Lunsford told the Asheville Citizen-Times.
The lowest paid members of faculty and staff have to take one day off, next highest paid must take five days off, and Lunsford will take an eight-day furlough.
“We have it set up so the students will not be affected by the furloughs. They will be taken at the end of May, so there is no direct impact on the students,” Lunsford said of faculty furloughs.
Non-teaching staff are now faced with the decision of when to take their required time off. For example, an employee with unused vacation time would have to decide when to take vacation and furlough, regardless of work load.
Although furloughs are meant to save money, they have been met with opposition. Several of the 230-240 full-time employees have expressed discontent.
One comment on The Hilltop website called one of the measures to save money an attempt “to strong-arm ‘donations.’” The faculty has also met to discuss ways to respond to the crisis.
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