DE PERE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — St. Norbert College is laying off 41 of its employees.
“You can be fundamentally solid both educationally and financially, but as demographics produce fewer 18 to 22-year-olds, you have to sometimes adjust the size of your organization and that’s what we’ve done,” said St. Norbert College President, Laurie Joyner.
Joyner says fewer students are enrolling in the college.
In 2019, St. Norbert had 1,950 degree-seeking students. This last spring semester, there were 1,800 students enrolled. Now, this fall semester, there are currently around 1,750.
“I also think more and more people are starting to question the value of higher education so it’s really important, it’s incumbent upon us to be more clear about the true measure of our success,” said Joyner.
With less students coming in, Joyner says there will more than likely be an increase in tuition.
“While we probably will see some increase just because of inflationary pressures, my commitment to our students and families is to try to keep the tuition as flat as possible,” said Joyner.
Out of the 12 employees continuing their jobs for now, seven are faculty members. Of the seven, three are visiting. The majority of people let go are non-instructional staff.
A St. Norbert faculty member, who wishes to remain anonymous, says he knew the layoffs were coming.
“I received a notification that I had an upcoming HR meeting,” the employee said.
He is one of 12 employees that is working until 2024.
“Everything goes back to the budget situation, enrollment situation at the college and decisions that have been made over the last couple of years,” said the employee.
Because two-thirds of the college’s operating budget funds personnel costs, they weren’t able to avoid a reduction in their workforce.
“This was an annual operating budget challenge and I’m really proud of the way our team came together to address it,” said Joyner.
“It’s definitely really disheartening to hear,” said Sephorah Lofgren, a freshman at SNC.
She says she doesn’t know anyone who was laid off personally, but says her heart goes out to those affected.
“I’ve heard people who’ve worked here for decades were let off so it’s definitely very tragic, I can imagine it’s a very hard transition for people,” said Lofgren.
“I wasn’t walked out yesterday so I’m going to be continuing on and still performing my duties but it’s not going to be with the same kind of enthusiasm or drive that it had been up to this point,” said the anonymous employee.
Because of the layoffs and other revenue generating ideas, Joyner says they are not projecting a budget deficit for fiscal year 2024, but a balanced budget.
