The Current Budget Situation




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  • 2013-12-02 21:38:06
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President Easton discussed this year’s budget and the current situation at AUBG during a meeting in BAC Auditorium on Dec. 2, 2013.
President Easton
President Easton pointed out that several reasons caused a shortfall in the budget – fewer students than expected enrolled for the fall 2013 semester, more students took leaves of absence than ever before, and AUBG did not get a grant from the American School Hospital Association (ASHA).* Another part of the problem, the president explained, is that four important departments “are not making money.” Those are the Elieff Center in Sofia, EMBA, Dining Services, and Student Activities. That left the university down $350,000. In order to avoid a deficit at the end of the current fiscal year, President Easton said that some measures will be taken. “We will have to examine all expenditures,” he said. “If there are things that we need to postpone […] we will consider postponing them.” The budgetary managers will have to check their budgets and see what can be cut and what they can go without. There will be no renovations until July 1, 2014. Travel and hiring will not be frozen, but will be carefully examined. “Every position that becomes open will be reviewed and we will have to make decisions,” the President said, although he clarified that the search for faculty members will not stop. “We have needs in the faculty that we need to fill.”  Also, he said that for the moment there will not be any cuts of staff or faculty. Additionally, the annual 1% increase in the salary for staff members will remain, complying with all Bulgarian laws and regulations. A suggestion for long term savings is in the field of energy consumption. “We do not worry about it too much, as we should,” President Easton said.  He suggested that the Green Committee of the University should create a campaign or a plan on how AUBG consumes energy.  In the short run, he said that the administration will try and work out the problems and the financial issues in the areas that are not generating enough income. A proposal from a student in the audience was that the sports hall, the gym, and the theater should be open for outside people during the winter and summer seasons when there are no students on campus. The president said that idea is something the administration is considering. Moreover, he urged all offices that have work study students to make sure that "the students are really working." President Easton clarified that the reason for the lower number of enrolled students for the semester was due to the fact that only students who qualified were let through, as opposed to previous years, when compromises were made. “I think every aspect of the campus, the faculty, noticed it,” he said. “Students noticed. The quality of the student body was declining.” Because of that, the standards were changed and the only the most qualified students were admitted at AUBG. The shortfall in the budget will not affect tuition for the current academic year. The president said that he is open to suggestions from everyone on how to improve the situation and save more money.