Vermont State University Friday released the second phase of a cost-cutting plan that includes eliminating 33 full-time employment positions at the newly unified college system.
Mike Smith is VTSU's interim president, and he says the new cost reduction blueprint will help the university get within reach of financial viability by 2027.
Smith says buy-outs have been offered to some faculty and administrators to reduce the need for layoffs.
He also says the university is expanding programs for nursing, and for electrical and plumbing jobs, with a specific goal moving forward.
"That our students will come out of this university with the ability to find good paying jobs, high paying jobs, second of all I want this university to be fiscally stable, and I think we can achieve both of those objectives as we move forward," Smith says.
Smith helped put together the strategy prior to his stepping down as president next week. He says enrollment numbers — which were down about 4% this year — will need rise to keep VTSU on track.
"Our estimate is that we need to be about 3.5% on the positive side each year — I'm confident that we can do that — I'm actually hoping that we're above 3.5%, but we took a conservative number of 3.5% moving forward," Smith says.
Smith says the university has expanded classes for nursing, electricians and plumbers while consolidating some liberal arts programs, such as theater.
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