In a statement released Monday, President Gregory Geoffroy said if Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack approves the budget that is currently on his desk, Iowa State will suffer a 9.9 percent loss in the fiscal year 2003 from 2002 funding levels.

“This represents an appropriation nearly equal to our [fiscal year] 1998 appropriation, when we had 2,439 fewer students,” Geoffroy wrote in his statement.

Up to 20 professional and scientific staff positions would be eliminated, said Provost Rollin Richmond, chairman of the Task Force for Strategic Effectiveness and Budget Priorities.

“We’re trying to preserve those [faculty] that interact with and teach students,” Richmond said.

According to the task force’s Budget Planning Guidelines released Oct. 10, 2001, the university will place funding priorities on programs of “high quality,” and eliminate or reduce programs of “lower quality.”

Richmond said the ranking of a department by other academic institutions will be looked at when determining the quality of a program, along with where faculty is placing research and scholarship.

No departments have been cut, Richmond said, but there will be a “reduction” in all academic areas.

The main focus of the cuts will be non-academic areas such as university accounting, administration, janitorial services and physical plant maintenance.

Among the task force’s proposals to keep departments afloat is the use of “bridge funding,” which would provide 3-year loans to keep faculty in what Richmond called “critical” departments. When a faculty member retires in a less critical department, the position will not be filled, allowing the funding to be funneled to the critical department.

“This way the reduction can be made more gradually,” Richmond said.

Varying tuition rates at Iowa State in the form of differential tuition has also been suggested by the task force. Differential tuition is commonly used in professional schools, Richmond said, like the College of Veterinary Medicine.

“For example, a student in the College of Engineering might pay more than a student in LAS,” Richmond said.

While differential tuition is just beginning to be discussed, Richmond said serious study of it will probably begin next year.

The Department of Agriculture, the Home Economics Experiment station and the Cooperative Extension Services will be included in the general university budget to shield them from state budget cuts, he said.

“These units are partially funded by the state and federal government,” he said. “They’re facing a bad time because the feds haven’t maintained support for the programs.”

Richmond called the task force a “successful application, which features a broader perspective on issues from faculty, students and administrators.”

The provost and vice president will implement the task force’s recommendation, Geoffroy said in his statement.