Western Illinois University is implementing a furlough program for administrative employees who are not part of a bargaining unit.
In a release, the Office of President Kristi Mindrup said the university still faces fiscal challenges. The furlough program is part of a plan to work toward long-term financial sustainability.
The program will be in effect from Feb. 1 through July 31. It has three tiers:
- Administrators making $150,000 a year or more will be required to take three unpaid days off per month
- Those making $100,000 to $149,999 will take off two unpaid days per month.
- Those making $75,000 to $99,999 will take one unpaid day off each month
Zach Messersmith, WIU Director of Governmental Relations, told TSPR that 89 employees are included in the furlough program, which will save the university nearly $500,000.
Employees will not be allowed to work, receive regular pay, or report hours worked during their furlough days.
Administrative personnel who are covered by a bargaining unit are exempt from the furlough program, as are faculty members and civil service employees.
Employees who anticipate retiring from WIU during the furlough period can be exempted from the furlough program.
WIU has implemented other furlough programs in the recent past:
- April 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016, affecting 502 non-negotiated administrative employees and non-academic personnel
- July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017, affecting 255 non-negotiated administrative employees and non-academic personnel
- July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018, affecting 199 non-negotiated administrative employees and non-academic personnel
Those furloughs affected employees making at least $40,000 a year.
‘The difficult year’
Mindrup became WIU’s interim president on April 1, and the WIU Board of Trustees appointed her president in December.
Mindrup faced financial challenges immediately upon taking office in April.
In a letter to the campus community in late spring, Mindrup said expenses exceeded revenues for the past two fiscal years, impacting the university’s cash flow. She said “bold action” was needed to deal with depleting reserves, rising expenses, and declining enrollment.
The administration laid off nearly three dozen faculty members at the start of the fiscal year on July 1.
In August, the administration laid off another 89 faculty and staff members, including some tenured faculty members, though some of those layoffs don’t take effect until after the current academic year.
Mindrup said the administration needed to act quickly to address what she referred to as a crisis.
“This is the difficult year. This is the year that Western Illinois University is taking difficult but necessary action,” she said.
“This is the day that we make the conscious decision to not pass the buck to future students, and current and future faculty, staff, and administration.”
In a release in December, Mindrup said that WIU still faced financial challenges.
“Now is the time to work together to identify options and solutions to address our financial position. Without timely collaborative action, this Spring semester will present a significant challenge for cash flow,” she said.
“With intentional collaboration to consider and identify cash saving and revenue generating opportunities, we will be able to meet our obligations throughout the fiscal year.”
Ketra Roselieb, WIU Vice President for Finance and Administration, provided an update on the budget situation during the BoT’s meeting in December.
“Our Fiscal Year 2025 expenses are budgeted to exceed our overall revenues. This total $14 million deficit does include multiple fund sources. $6.4 million is specific to our appropriated fund source, and $7.6 million is specific to our restricted auxiliary fund source,” she told the board.
“The inability to change revenues and expenses significantly in a short period of time cannot be placed on one item specifically – enrollment, state support, alternative sources of revenue, contractual obligations, inflation, etc. It’s not one of those things.
“And the solutions to solve an unbalanced budget also cannot be focused in singularity as well.”
Roselieb also pointed to the report released in November by the Governor’s Office for Management and Budget, which projected a $3 billion state budget deficit for Fiscal Year 2026.
“We must continue to take matters into our own hands for our financial future,” she said.
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