With the university embroiled in increasing budget cuts, the seven colleges are all scrambling to maintain a fine balance between quality education and ensuring students will not have to take more time to finish their degrees.

“I don’t think any aspect of anything we’re doing will result in a large number of students taking longer to graduate,” said James Melsa, dean of the College of Engineering. “We still offer all the classes that need to be offered.”

Melsa said there may be fewer sections of these classes, as well as fewer electives.

“I don’t believe the budget cuts have hindered the ability to graduate on a student’s timetable,” said Michael Whiteford, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “We’re projecting into the future, looking ahead to make sure we can offer key classes and courses are available.”

Whiteford said he believed the college could maintain that trend unless faced with another year or two of budget cuts similar to the ones experienced this year.

A reduction in the sections of classes is one step all of the colleges have been forced to take.

“We’re doing everything we can to protect the students,” said Walt Gmelch, dean of the College of Education. “We have had to make fewer sections and larger classes, but I don’t think there will be a lengthening of the time it takes to graduate.”

“We have cut the budget in selected areas, primarily in research, in order to protect the educational programs of the college,” said Norman Cheville, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. “In doing this, we have eliminated 16 positions that are distributed nearly equally among faculty and staff.”

He said the program will not be lengthened.

Larger class sizes were also a common thread among the methods the various colleges are using to fight budget cuts.

“Students will face larger class sizes,” said Carol Meeks, dean of family and consumer sciences. “Our first priority is not to cut undergraduate classes, so we’ve had to increase the class size instead.”

The College of Design has “reorganized some administrative assignments, cut some course sections, pulled back on graduate assistantships and reformed some curriculum offerings,” said Dean Mark Engelbrecht.

Labh Hira, dean of the College of Business, said that in addition to larger classes, there will be fewer elective classes offered, as well as cuts in graduate assistantships. In addition, there will be an increase in using adjunct instructors.

Another effect the budget cuts have had is that open faculty positions are likely to remain unfilled, said Melsa.

“Our faculty has dropped from around 240 to around 220, so we’re going to have an increased student-to-faculty ratio,” he said. “That’s not a good formula, but that’s what we have to face.”

Students whose programs go in a specific sequence may be at risk for delayed graduation.

“Students who fall out of sequence for whatever reason may have added difficulty in getting back into the game,” Engelbrecht said.

Meeks said priority for classes may be given to students within the college, because some programs go in a sequence.

Limiting enrollment to the various colleges is another method discussed.

“We’re looking very seriously at limiting enrollment,” Melsa said. “It may come to either reduce the enrollment or the quality of the program, and we want the maintain a quality program.”

The design college may also consider more stringent admissions requirements, Engelbrecht said.

“Not only have we had our budget cut 6 percent [over the last two years] but the 18.5 percent tuition increase won’t generate any money for the colleges,” Melsa said.

The colleges and the university continue to work to make the best of the situation.

“The university is absolutely sincere in its efforts to keep high demand courses open,” Whiteford said.

The budget cuts so far:

College of Engineering: two million dollars over the last two years.

College of Education: one million dollars over the last 2.5 years.

College of Business: $750,000 over the last two years.

College of Family and Consumer Science: $800,000 over the last two years.

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: $3,392,318 over the last two years.

College of Veterinary Medicine: 1.7 million dollars over two years.

College of Design:10 percent over the last 3 fiscal periods.