Southern Oregon University plans cuts to academic units and administrative outsourcing
Updated
Updated · Higher Ed Dive · May 7
Southern Oregon University plans cuts to academic units and administrative outsourcing
6 articles · Updated · Higher Ed Dive · May 7
The preliminary proposal would sunset four units, consolidate nine and raise average class size to 22 from 16 before board action on Friday.
Music, international studies, creative writing, and gender, sexuality and women’s studies would close, while services from payroll to contract review could be shifted to partners or third parties.
The plan follows $15m in emergency state funding tied to a balanced-budget mandate by May 11, and has drawn faculty and community criticism over transparency, data quality and SOU’s regional mission.
As SOU pivots to workforce training, is it sacrificing its core mission as a regional cultural hub?
Is SOU's crisis the first domino to fall in a larger, statewide public university collapse?
Is Southern Oregon University's drastic survival plan built on a foundation of flawed financial data?