Though UF President Bernie Machen promised no programs or personnel would be cut this year in the face of a $33-million-budget reduction, he can't speak with confidence about the future.
Undergraduate tuition will increase 15 percent every year for the next three years, faculty's paid time off may be decreased, and if budget cuts from the state continue, programs with low enrollment may be cut.
Machen addressed some of the university's proposed immediate and long-term solutions for the budget cuts that have hit UF for the fourth time in five years at a Faculty Senate meeting Thursday.
"We're going to try to find as many one-time revenue sources as we can to get us through most of next year," Machen said, "but by a year from this summer, July '12, we've got to have recurring revenues to cover that deficit."
For the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the budget gap will be covered by the tuition increase and the use of non-recurring funds, such as a $6 million contribution from the University Athletic Association and the $3.8 million given to UF by the state.
However, this is only a temporary fix.
Machen is looking into options such as increasing the amount of money auxiliary programs, such as the UAA or the Department of Housing and Residence Education, must pay as overhead to operate within the university. Overhead costs for research may also be increased.
There could also be changes to the structure of UF employees' leave. For example, employees may now be required to use their leave for the four days they're given off when the university is closed between Christmas and New Year's. Sick and vacation leave may also be cut down from seven weeks to five weeks.
If the state legislature continues to make cuts to the university's budget, Machen said, more drastic measures may have to be taken.
Increases in distance-learning programs and out-of-state student enrollment, a postponement of the opening of the Harn Asian wing, and cuts to the budgets of administration and individual colleges are all on the table.
"So, what can you do?" Machen asked the faculty present at the meeting. "I'm ready to engage ideas. There may be things we haven't thought of."
The Faculty Senate also passed two bills regarding UF programs.
The first would create a School of Advanced Dental Sciences, a school within the College of Dentistry that would include the endodontics, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry and periodontology departments as well as a prosthodontic graduate program.
The second bill created an international studies bachelor's degree program within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Both bills must be approved by the Board of Trustees before they can go into effect.
