It is all about budget balancing.
Taylor is currently running on a budget deficit because of both a smaller incoming class than expected and many students not returning.
This led to a budget deficit of over $2 million for this year.
“When a class comes in, you are looking at two things,” said Steve Mortland, vice president of enrollment and strategic institutional engagement. “You are looking at headcount, and you are also looking at how much did you spend in discount to recruit those students.”
One reason why enrollment affects the budget is because the majority of Taylor’s funding comes from tuition. If Taylor budgeted the money based on a certain number of students coming in and they did not reach that goal, this causes a problem. Money has to be coming in for the school to continue running like normal.
Another reason attendance is lacking is because Taylor raised their academic standards. Mortland said this is due to how overworked many of the support resources on campus have been in past years.
In relation to this, many students received a higher discount because of higher ACT or SAT scores, leading to more money being spent.
“When Taylor’s handled it best, one: we’ve not panicked,” said Tom Jones, dean of humanities, arts and biblical studies. “Two: we’ve taken stock of what we do best in comparison to what students want. We don’t try to change who we are.”
We at The Echo believe this statement. Taylor is a great institution with solid values. Just because we are going through a money crisis does not mean we should be panicking.
According to Stephen Olson, vice president of business and finance, Taylor should continue with its current budget plan. The more you put into the current programs offered here, the more students you will draw to the university.
In other words, it takes money to make money.
Since we are a Christian university, we should stand firm in God during this time of financial uncertainty. If our hope is rooted in Him, we have nothing to fear.
