The Board of Governors asked Florida state colleges to spend 8.5% less during the 2021 fiscal year, and that puts FAU 18.1 million dollars behind what they would normally spend. Although FAU has had to make budget cuts in the athletic department, they have not had to eliminate any degree programs altogether, unlike the University of South Florida.
Instead FAU will actually be offering new degree programs, such as a new BS in medical biology. Local professor Christopher Robé told CBS12 that further cuts, similar to the ones that the University of Florida is making, which include a hiring freeze, would make the mission of finding and meeting students’ needs more difficult.
“The impact on students concerns us as much as ourselves. We’re already kind of understaffed as it is”, Robé says. Colleges across the country are going through similar financial strain due to revenue reductions during COVID-19.