Fears that belt-tightening at University of Montana may compromise quality

Quality could be a casualty at the University of Montana if the flagship campus endures further enrollment declines – and related budget trouble.

Last year, UM cut its budget – "slashed" it, in the words of one faculty leader – to address falling enrollment, and the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education recently praised university leaders for aligning UM's expenses with enrollment.

Shortly after that, UM announced another drop in enrollment at 4.8 percent, even as its sister flagship, Montana State University in Bozeman, announced an equivalent jump in headcount.

As budgeted, UM's current unrestricted expenditures for the 2017 fiscal year are just a hair below its spending in 2011. MSU's spending, on the other hand, is slated to increase by roughly 50 percent over its 2011 amount.

Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/fears-that-belt-tightening-at-um-may-compromise-quality/article_bc79ba3b-cc43-565b-b1bc-d2bb56402eab.html

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