R.J. Yancey
Staff writer
rjyancey@valdosta.edu

The Board of Regents for the University System of Georgia has requested that VSU and other USG institutions prepare for additional cuts in budget for the 2010 fiscal year.
For students, faculty, and staff, this means a complete restructuring of how VSU operates.
During the 2009 fiscal year, VSU lost $6 million or 12 percent in state appropriated funds. In addition to the 12 percent loss, the Board of Regents has requested that VSU submit a reduction plan for another 8 percent for the new fiscal year.
Furthermore, VSU will have to replace 5 percent of the budget, which was previously funded by federal stimulus funds, totaling a loss of around $13 million.
“All budget reductions are permanent. Therefore, VSU has to re-engineer the way it conducts business,” said Thressea Boyd, Assistant to the President for Communications.
In response to budget cuts, classes which were previously held in small classrooms are being expanded to hold more students.
“This year’s faculty will be serving more students than in the past years. The university has added approximately 15 lecture-style classes that will serve 150 students each. By producing more seats, without additional costs, the university can re-allocate those funds to strategic initiatives that will continue to boost enrollment,” Boyd said.
With larger classes, some students have doubts about maintaining a personalized experience in the classroom.
“In my biology class there was a girl raising her hand for like three minutes but the teacher just didn’t notice her. Someone else had to raise their hand for her to get the teacher’s attention,” Brett Luke, sophomore accounting major, said.
Faculty and staff are affected directly.
Although no layoffs are expected, the Board of Regents has implemented six mandatory furlough days for staff members whose annual salary is more than $23,600.
Furlough days are days in which a faculty member is not paid or expected to come to work.
Furlough days have not been implemented at VSU in the past 40 years.
The furlough dates are Oct. 19, Nov. 25, Dec. 21, Jan. 4, March 19, and May 4.
According to Denise Bogart, director of Human Resources and Employee Development at VSU, supervisors will make accommodations for alternate furlough days for employees who conduct life and safety duties.
For public safety officers, schedules have been readjusted so that campus police are able to focus on areas closer to the core of campus, with less attention to surrounding neighborhoods.
“The safety of our students and employees and the security of our campus is a priority. Campus patrols are as frequent as in any time in recent history,” Boyd said.