With a projected budget loss of $1.5 million this year, Castleton University will layoff staff, eliminate positions and offer early retirements.
The university is not saying exactly how many staff members will lose their jobs. Jeff Weld, the school's Dean of Advancement, says the school plans to inform impacted staff by April 15.
Weld says declining enrollment in recent years has left a hole in the school's budget. He says Castleton's shrinking student body fits with a nationwide trend of a falling number of college-age students.
"Despite our best efforts to avoid this kind of staff restructuring, we're at the point where it's a necessity in an effort to maintain our affordability and to really focus on the student experience," Weld says.
Weld says the school's goal is that students will not feel the impact of staff reductions.
He says Castleton's enrollment numbers were also impacted last year by a new tuition-free offer at New York's state university system.
Weld says Castleton, which is less than 10 miles from the New York border, has typically relied on enrolling some students from New York state.
