On Thursday, UNC Asheville announced layoffs in its Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, and the Office of the Chancellor departments.
The layoffs are part of a plan to address a projected $6 million budget deficit for the current fiscal year and an $8 million projected deficit for the following fiscal year, according to an update from Chancellor Kimberly van Noort.
In her statement, van Noort, who was promoted from interim to permanent in late 2023, said the reductions are part of “broader efforts to stabilize our finances.”
“I’m deeply disappointed that a reduction in force was necessary,” she wrote. “We didn’t want to part with any of our valued colleagues, and we pursued every avenue to reduce the number affected in this difficult period,”
UNC Asheville has faced a roughly 25% enrollment decline over the last five years, according to van Noort. In order to address these shortages, she said that the university will take a four-pronged approach:
- “Tighten our immediate spending practices and contain any effect on faculty, staff, and overall operations. We focused tirelessly on this step over the past several months. Among our measures, we have indefinitely held open vacant positions, reduced travel costs, drawn more on trust and endowment funds when possible, and created a Fall 2024 academic schedule that relies heavily on permanent faculty.
- Identify and finalize a limited number of employee separations, as necessary. This is the step we completed, with regret, this week.
- Evaluate the University’s portfolio of academic programs.
- Monitor enrollment and financial trends ahead of Fall 2025 and begin longer-term planning and visioning work. This step will continue from the spring into the fall. Our enrollment on August 30 — census day — will determine if we need additional adjustments at that point.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
