It took NU Regents just less than an hour to discuss the budget in public as they tackle less state aid and rising costs while trying to protect academic programs.
The University faced a nearly $50 million budget gap but now will slowly close over the next two years as the NU Board of Regents voted 11-1.
“I think we stuck a really good balance between finding efficiencies in cuts and increasing revenue,” said NU President Hank Bounds.
The new budget cuts $30 million from its operations including over 100 jobs.
The budget also raises tuition by a total of 8.6-percent, 5.4-percent next school year and 3.2-percent the following year.
“None of us like raising tuition, but it was a necessity,” said NU Regent Hal Daub.
Before making the decision, Regents spoke about the difficulty of raising tuition and making cuts.
“$30-million dollars way overshadows in my opinion what we are asking in this tuition increase and we are going to have to live with whatever we do; it has implications,” said NU Regent Bob Whitehouse.
“We are becoming a more and more lean organization,” said Regent Jim Pillen.
The only ‘no’ vote came from Regent Rob Schafer who said students already pay enough to go to college.
“I believe that the $5-600 dollar increase proposed today for many of our students and their families can be the difference between them buying groceries paying utility bills or seeing their physician,” said Schafer.
Even those personally affected, such as UNO student body President Carlo Eby knows the heavy weight of his vote, “I will walk into my dorm and physically face the student who will be impacted by this everyday when i go to class and sitting in a room of 30 students who will be directly impacted by the vote we will take here today.”
Bounds would not get specific on whose job will be cut, he said that information will come on another day.
