Montana State University-Northern adjusting to budget cuts

Editor’s note: This corrects that Montana State University-Northern does not have a campus in Great Falls and clarifies that a $10 million shortfall was in the Montana University System and Northern’s portion of that was $1.2 million.

Havre's university is continuing to adjust to budget shortfalls stemming from less-than predicted revenue for the state, but its chancellor said he has high hopes for the future.

Montana State University Northern Chancellor Greg Kegel said he remains positive that Northern is moving in the right direction.

"In fact, we are growing," Kegel said. "Northern itself has turned a corner. We are reaching further and deeper for our students, and we are very optimistic that there is growth in the future."

He said he also is optimistic that work will start this year on a new athletic complex for the university including a football stadium, which he has said will also be a tool for recruiting students. The university is seeking private donations to fund the complex.

The state enacted budget cuts over the 2017 summer and in a special session last fall after revenue came in lower than projections used by the Legislature last year to set its budget.

The Legislature set automatic cuts to happen if trigger points on lower-than-expected revenue were hit, and, after one of the worst Montana fire seasons in recorded history also hit state revenues, a special session was held in which an additional $4.5 million was cut from the university system.

Kegel said the Montana University System had a total $10 million shortfall, with Northern seeing $1.2 million less than the previous year.

The university system evened out the cut between all the campuses, with each campus taking around a 10 percent cut.

"They don't want to hurt anybody more than they have to," Kegel said.

One of the tools Montana Northern is using is consolidating certain positions with other campuses, such as the campus in Great Falls, and not filled vacant positions or in some cases not renewing contracts, he said.

The Montana University System was reorganized in 1994 into two systems with University of Montana and Montana State University the flagship campuses and Northern, along with Billings, part of the Montana State system. Kegel said the goal was reducing duplicated services, which promoted cost-sharing.

Kegel said Montana State University is continuing to try to reduce duplication in a program called One MSU. For example, Northern's chief financial officer resigned around the same time the same position became vacant at the campus of Great Falls College Montana State University where Northern offers coursework and degrees; so the two campuses are working to create one position for both.

Kegel added that the office for the chief financial officer's office will still be at the Montana State University-Northern campus but work simultaneously with Great Falls. Another office for which that was discussed was the chief academic officer.

"So we're consolidating like that to absorb some of those losses," Kegel said.

Montana State University-Northern also took a 60-student drop last year which called for less faculty members, he said. When a position opens up the university will fill the vacancy with other existing faculty members or adjuncts to help create savings.

Kegel said no services or programs have been cut yet.

"I think we did a really good job," Kegel added.

He said that in addition to the changes with staff and faculty the student tuition rate will be raised for the first time in 10 years, which has already been approved by the Board of Regents.

Kegel said the university budget system has many checks and balances.

Every legislative session, each campus puts together a funding request which includes infrastructure, facility costs and personnel on the campus. The budget is then sent to the office of the Commissioner of Higher Education, where it is reviewed and changes made if needed. Afterward, the budget is sent to the governor's office for review and then taken to the Legislature.

That doesn't normally end in major cuts, Kegel said.

"What we ended up with is about $10 million less than the year before, and that hasn't happened for a while," he said. "We usually get funded at the same level or if they do an increase, it's an increase for inflation."

Kegel said meeting the shortfall was difficult without hurting students, faculty and staff, adding that 80 percent of the budget was in personnel and that the budget was already stretched thin.

He added that the university is in negotiations with the unions and he is confident everything is in good faith.

"I'd like to end negotiations with a handshake and an agreement that is fair, and I think we are very close in doing that," he said.

Kegel added that he believes the university, with its many partners and with the community, is moving in the right direction.

"My students are coming in and telling me that they're so proud of Northern and that it is starting to feel like a real university," Kegel said. "We know who we are and we know where we're going."

He added that the community understands how important it is for Northern to be healthy.

"A healthy Northern is a healthy community," he said.

Kegel also said the university is continuing to work on finding funding for the proposed athletic complex for Northern.

"I'm still optimistic," he said.

Kegel said he hopes to break ground sometime this summer.

He added that the university has an engineering firm on retainer and the survey for the project is completely done and soil testing is underway.

Kegel has also been in contact with the state and that there will be a conference call in the future to go over the scope and budget for the project will be discussed, and once that is done the university will be able to break ground on the project.

He added that the university is already halfway to the million-dollar goal for the project, thanks to private donations and contributions, and that he is positive the university will meet its goal.

"When you see dirt moving, you'll know that everything is in order," Kegel said, and that the university is working under constraints for completion of the new project.