Posted: March 20, 1997
Contact: Doug Anderson, doug.anderson@MinnState.edu, 651-201-1426
Declining enrollments and continuing fiscal problems have resulted in a proposed reduction of 87 full-time equivalent faculty positions at Minnesota's technical colleges and comprehensive community and technical colleges.
In Wednesday's action, the Board of Trustees of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) authorized a preliminary list of faculty who will receive written layoff notices in the next several days. The board is required by Minnesota statutes to authorize "unrequested leaves of absence" for technical college instructors who will be laid off for fall quarter 1997.
The list is based on recommendations of college presidents and is generally regarded as the worst case scenario. It is anticipated that many of the laid-off employees will be reinstated before fall quarter begins.
"The board's action does not necessarily mean that all of the instructors on the list will lose their jobs," said Anne Weyandt, MnSCU interim vice chancellor for labor relations. "In many cases, these people will be reinstated after major funding decisions are made, including MnSCU's FY1998-99 state appropriation from the Legislature."
The technical colleges and the comprehensive community and technical colleges experienced an enrollment decline of 4.7 percent between fall 1995 and 1996. MnSCU's overall enrollment dropped 2.5 percent.
Layoff provisions for state university and community college faculty are defined by their respective collective bargaining agreements, which have different requirements for layoff notices.
