NC College Expense Cuts Includes Retirement Contributions

The Raleigh, North Carolina-based women’s college plans to freeze salaries, cut retirement contributions by 2.5%, cut 19 positions, and raise tuition by 4% next year, according to the Triangle Business Journal. Job cuts will come from reduction in force, attrition, elimination of some open positions, and by not extending some one-year contracts. No tenured faculty will lose their jobs, though some adjunct professors may be cut, the Business Journal reports.

In addition, the school will cancel its winter commencement, saving about $15,000, and consolidate classes with fewer than 10 students. Meredith also budgeted an additional $450,000 in contingency funds and $300,000 in additional facilities reserves in case the economy worsens, the news report said.

Small private schools like Meredith are expected to suffer most from the current downturn in the economy, as many families will opt to send their children to less expensive public institutions.