Catholic U., facing $30M deficit, considers ‘three main changes’ to academic operations

 N.B. The demographic cliff has arrived …

January 21, 2025
By Gina Chris

The Catholic University of America in Washington will look into consolidating some academic departments, as part of a recently announced effort to address a $30 million budget deficit.

In a Jan. 17 email to the university community, Aaron Dominguez, the university’s executive vice president and provost, said that “three main changes” to academic operations have been proposed. Affected areas of study include the performing arts, social service, nursing and art.

President Peter Kilpatrick wrote in a Dec. 6 email to alumni that the university had to seek “both budget cuts and revenue growth” to counter the deficit, citing a number of challenges in the nation’s higher education landscape. L

Kilpatrick wrote that the university — which depends heavily on tuition revenue — would work to eliminate its “undue reliance on financial reserves and investment payouts to balance the budget.”

Among the headwinds cited by Kilpatrick in that email were rising costs, increased competition for students, the long-term impact of COVID, inflation and the “poorly redesigned” FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form, which was plagued by technical glitches.

Read the rest: https://catholicreview.org/catholic-u-facing-30m-deficit-considers-three-main-changes-to-academic-operations/