7% Budget Cuts Led to Staff Layoffs and Limited Travel According to Provost

By: Maya Tinajero, Skyline Editor 

ALPINE – Sul Ross State University quietly implemented seven percent across-the-board cuts last spring, resulting in layoffs and downsizing in almost every area. 

University Provost Bernie Cantens attributed the cuts to an accounting mistake that counted nearly 1,000 so-called dual credit students as paying full tuition. As a result, budget projections fell far short, resulting in the need to implement the cuts.  

“So, the cause of the seven percent (cuts) was, I think, low enrollment of regular students.”Cantens told the Skyline. 

The cuts and their impact have not been previously reported. 

According to other university officials, at least a dozen part-time professors have been hired for a fraction of the cost of full-time staff and with no benefits to fill the gap. 

Sul Ross recently lost $10 million in grants, which Cantens said increased the need for these budget cuts.  

“We tried to save all the faculty, and all the staff positions first. That was our priority with the grants,” said Cantens. Assistant Provost Michelle Lancaster told the Skyline that the decision on how to implement the cuts was left up to the colleges, “The idea is the deans know their colleges best.” 

 The dual credit program at Sul Ross allows eligible high school students to enroll in college courses and receive academic credit for both college and high school. However, unlike tuition-paying students, the university does not receive money directly or immediately from dual credit students. 

 “We get money from the state for that; there’s a lag between when those students take a class,” said Lancaster.  

The ‘lag’ that Lancaster referred to is a two-year period until the university receives money for hosting a dual credit student. The amount the university receives from the state depends on whether the student qualifies for the FAST program. According to the FAST program website, the tuition rate is $58.52 per semester credit hour for the FY 2026 and $60.10 per semester credit hour for FY 2027. The university has about 923 dual credit students enrolled this semester. 

Cantens and Lancaster also shared that the budget cuts have resulted in “reduced travel budgets for the departments.”  

As far as funding goes,  Cantens and Lancaster said the university is exploring other avenues, such as grants. 

 “You also pivot to different funding sources, right?” said Lancaster, “So if the Department of Education isn’t providing the volume of grants that they used to, you pivot toward state level grants and you pivot towards private foundations.” 

“There’s something like $60 million (in grants) pending right now,” Cantens said.