Thursday, January 13, 2011
 
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LCU announces FY12 budget cuts

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[January 13, 2011]  Lincoln Christian University is announcing plans to deal with the financial challenges it faces as a result of the economic recession and changes in higher education trends. This plan will put LCU on more solid financial footing for the future but will come at the loss of eight full-time positions.

"It is regretful that every measure taken thus far has been inadequate to meet our financial challenges," says LCU President Keith H. Ray. "Any time an organization reduces its work force, it is a painstaking endeavor."

In August 2010, there were 25 percent fewer undergraduate students who lived on campus than in 2006, when the number of residential students peaked. This decline, combined with the economic downturn that began in 2008, warrants this action. The work force reduction and ongoing spending restrictions will trim about 8 percent from the university budget and will position the school for a healthy future. The average size of budget cuts in higher education ranges from 7 to 14 percent nationally.

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Recent research into higher education trends shows that the population of high school students is declining in the rural Midwest. Additionally, the decline in government grants and availability of guaranteed student loans makes it increasingly difficult for students and their families to pay for a private college education.

"The board of trustees and the executive leadership team regret having to take such action," Ray said. "We will miss the valuable contributions provided by these individuals, because it is finances, and not employee competency, that has forced these decisions."

Affected employees are being given as much time as possible to prepare for the transition, which will take effect on June 1. LCU will provide counseling services, career coaching and a severance package.

For the last two years the LCU administrators and employees have worked together to avoid layoffs. Salaries and benefits were reduced and departmental spending was restricted. Despite these hardships, LCU was recently named a "Best Christian Workplace," based on an anonymous survey of LCU employees who ranked the university with high marks in "trust in leadership" and "a unity found in faith."

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Academic programs have been expanded at both the graduate and undergraduate levels in order to counter enrollment declines.

Lincoln Christian changed its name and implemented a coordinated marketing strategy in September 2009. Since then, there has been a modest recovery in the number of residential undergraduate students. As a result of new online degree offerings, there has also been a 20 percent increase in adult student enrollment. A strategic planning team will be appointed this month to begin work on a new strategic plan to guide the vision and mission of LCU.

Lincoln Christian University is a Christian higher education community whose mission is to nurture and equip Christians with a biblical worldview to serve and lead in the church and the world.

[Text from file received from Lincoln Christian University]

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