Sweet Briar College budget cuts

Sweet Briar College will temporarily suspend retirement benefits and lay off some workers to make up for a $950,000 revenue shortfall caused by lower-than-expected fall enrollment numbers.

The college enrolled about 40 fewer students than it projected this fall, said President Jo Ellen Parker.

“This economy has been so hard on so many families … I think this year we underestimated how much families need for financial aid,” she said.

The school plans to recoup the biggest chunk of the shortfall — about fifty percent — through a five-month suspension of retirement benefits for all employees. Other cuts include laying off up to five full-time employees, suspension of pay for senior staff, deferral of non-essential maintenance and purchases, a partial hiring freeze and a reduction in operating hours at Daisy’s Café and Bistro.

The goal of the budget cuts is to protect the school’s $83 million endowment, which reached a low of about $65 million after the financial crisis last fall. Prior to the crash, the endowment was stable at about $95 million.

“The endowment is the future,” Parker said. “It’s very important to sustain our endowment for future generations of stu-dents and future generations of faculty.”

The school’s annual spending rate from its endowment is 6.25 percent, just shy of its goal of 5 percent. The cuts allow it to balance the budget without dipping further into the endowment, Parker said.

Colleges across the country are instituting budget cuts to cushion the blows from the economy, some much more severe than Sweet Briar’s. Earlier this month, Dartmouth College announced that it aims to implement $100 million in budget cuts over the next two fiscal years.

Parker said that although Sweet Briar has experienced healthy growth in the past decade, the college is not immune to the ripples of the recession. The college attracted 225 freshmen in 2008, its largest class in 25 years.

“We have been very, very fortunate … but we’re not immune and this year we have to respond to the current situation.”

On Tuesday, the college held open sessions for faculty, staff and students to weigh in on the financial situation. News of the cuts was met with concern by some members of the community, Parker said.

“It’s always hard when you have to reduce your workforce. So of course, it’s not something to be done lightly and it’s dif-ficult for the community,” Parker said.

The plan could change in coming months based on factors like winter utility costs, the results of the annual fundraising drive and the overall health of the stock market, Parker said.

To boost next year’s enrollment, the school is reviewing how it develops its financial aid packages for students and pro-viding additional training for its admissions staff. The admissions office has revamped campus tours to include video cam-eras that prospective students can use to document their visit, and is taking advantage of social media sites like Facebook to connect with potential students.

Early indicators of next year’s enrollment numbers are mixed. Inquiries and applications are higher compared to last year, while campus visits are lower.

Paul Davies, vice president for finance and administration, said that Sweet Briar’s overall financial outlook is a healthy one, adding that the plan allows the school to cut spending without raising tuition or decreasing financial aid.

“Financially we’re very sound,” Davies said.

“We are not pulling out an inordinate amount of money from the endowment. We’ve worked very hard to reduce ex-penses and live within our means.”

Parker said that despite this year’s shortfall, she expects Sweet Briar’s growth to continue.

On Thursday, she traveled to Goucher College in Baltimore to tour its state-of-the-art library. While there, Parker took notes for an upcoming library project at Sweet Briar, which is still in the early stages.

“The college is moving forward,” she said.