USC’s Caslen is projecting a 10% enrollment loss in 2020-2021 because of coronavirus

The University of South Carolina is bracing for a 10% reduction in enrollment for fall semester, President Robert Caslen said at a Thursday board of trustees committee meeting.

That drop in enrollment is expected among all students, whether they’re freshmen or graduate students, Caslen said.

The reduction in enrollment has the potential to devastate the budget at the Palmetto State’s largest school, as tuition dollars are the top source of USC’s revenue. It is unclear just how much money the coronavirus pandemic will cost USC next fiscal year.

However, USC is set to be better off than many other schools, which could lose more than 20% of their enrollment, Caslen said.

On top of the projected revenue losses from enrollment, USC is not expecting increased funding from the state, while it will likely see increased costs from buying personal protective equipment (PPE), declining athletic revenue from a likely abnormal football season, reduced revenue to dining and housing and more, Caslen said. However, USC will receive a total of $17.6 million from the CARES act that the school can use to balance its budget, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency could refund 30% of certain PPE purchases, according to documents presented at the board meeting.

Colleges throughout the country are facing likely budget shortfalls and a possible drop in enrollment headed into next school year.

By June 30 — the end of the current fiscal year — USC has projected a net loss of up to $40 million. However, the fiscal impact for the next fiscal year is expected to be far worse. In a message to colleagues, the president of USC’s Faculty Senate said the fiscal impacts could be “twice as large” as it was in the 2008 Great Recession, according to a previous article from The State.

To compensate for those projected losses, USC has already nixed pay increases, delayed student housing projects, implemented a temporary hiring freeze, cut salaries of executives and the highest-paid sports coaches.

Faculty have chipped in too, recommending administrators hold off on merit-based raises for faculty until 2021-2022, Faculty Senate Chair Mark Cooper said in an email. The raises, approved in February, were set to be the first merit-based pay increases in 13 years. Foregoing these raises until 2021-2022 would save the university $3.5 million in the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1, Cooper said.

Going forward, USC is considering ending consulting contracts, not allowing employees to work overtime, reducing the number of temporary employees, freezing travel, reducing salary supplements and more, according to board documents. Those changes could save an estimated $26.7 million.