For the second year in a row Florida A&M University has failed to meet enrollment numbers required by the state.
Each year the state gives the University money according to its proposed yearly budget. This budget is produced according to the enrollment numbers.
Since 2004, FAMU has failed to meet its enrollment requirement. In most cases, FAMU would owe the state money.
That decision has not been finalized, but is still a strong possibility.
FAMU Students want to know, if the university ends up owing the state money, where will that money come from?
It is apparent that FAMU will have to make some substantial cuts in its budget if the state decides that the university owes it money.
“We are still reviewing all of the information,” said Dr. Vincent G. June, vice president of Student Affairs. He said that the state or FAMU have not made any final decisions concerning this issue but plan to very soon.
Due to the recent issues surrounding federal aid, students are concerned that this cut will be devastating to not only the university but also to them.
“This has been a stressful enough year already with the possibility of congress cutting federal aid and now this,” said Cilia Davis, 21, a psychology student from Raleigh, N.C. “I am hoping that the University will consider the students in their decision making process concerning this issue.”
“A lot of people think that a drop in enrollment does not affect students but it does affect the everyday life of students on campus,” said Phillip Agnew, SGA vice president. “We need to find a way to recruit students and keep them here and happy.”
He added that a cut in the budget would have a major effect on the amount of money available to activities and services. This would limit the amount of money available to A&S, which would limit the number of programs that they can provide to students. He also insists that SGA is trying to come up with different, effective ways to recruit students.
“There are cuts being made everywhere on campus and another drop in enrollment would be detrimental to this university,” Agnew said. However, Agnew is certain that the university will prevail.
Several attempts were made to contact interim president, Castell V. Bryant, and Herbert Bailey, director of University budget office, but both were unavailable for comment.