CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Southeast Missouri State University will cut 35 to 40 vacant and filled staff positions over the next five months to balance its fiscal 2018 budget and cover known budget needs for fiscal 2019, school president Carlos Vargas-Aburto announced Tuesday.
Vargas said the workforce reductions account for about 4 percent of the university's full-time workforce.
No filled faculty positions will be eliminated at this time, he said.
But Vargas said vacant instructional positions may be filled, reallocated to another academic department or may remain vacant, depending on instructional needs.
The reduction will include the loss of 20 to 25 existing, non-faculty jobs as well as the elimination of 15 to 20 vacant staff positions across all divisions within the university, Vargas said at an afternoon news conference in the Board of Regents Room at Academic Hall.
Vargas said the decision to eliminate existing jobs "is something that weighs very heavily on me."
But Vargas told reporters, "The magnitude of our budget needs makes this action necessary. This is a very difficult step and an announcement I regret having to make."
Vargas said the added workforce reductions come on top of an initial elimination of 18.5 vacant staff positions as well as other cost-cutting moves.
As part of those moves, Vargas said, the university reduced operating budgets and reorganized departments or units across every university division and offered a voluntary retirement incentive program that resulted in 74 faculty and staff retirements, which began Dec. 31, 2017, and will run through Dec. 31, 2018. Southeast also made changes to employee and retiree benefits programs and implemented a four-month hiring delay, which remains in effect, he said.
Earlier Tuesday, Vargas notified faculty and staff in an email of the latest decision to reduce positions.
Human-resources staff at Southeast will hold initial meetings with affected staff members and their supervisors from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2. A second round of notifications is planned for the end of April or early May upon conclusion of the academic restructuring process, Vargas said.
All affected employees will be given five months between notice and their last day of employment, he said.
Human resources will work with affected staff, coordinating assistance with services, including resume writing and practice interviews while helping them explore alternative employment options on and off campus, Vargas said.
Affected employees who meet required qualifications for other university positions will be guaranteed an interview for a period of six months after their last date of employment, he said.
Vargas said all of the university's cost-cutting moves are designed to meet a $6.6 million budget shortfall caused by reductions and withholdings in state aid and increased costs associated with retirement contributions and health-insurance premiums.
Despite the budget challenges, Vargas said Southeast has held the line on in-state tuition and student fees, which have increased only 14 percent over the past decade. Nationally, the average increase was 65 percent, he said, citing information from U.S. News and World Report.
Under state law, there is an annual cap on tuition increases at Missouri's public colleges and universities, he said.
Vargas said Southeast has tried to "minimize the cost" of higher education for its students. "In some ways, it is a balancing act," he said.
Southeast continues to provide access to an affordable, quality education, Vargas said.
But he added the budget challenges present "an opportunity to adapt to a changing environment" and improve the delivery of educational programs to students.