Dive Brief:
- George Washington University laid off 46 employees this week in a push to cut administrative costs.
- The DC university had asked all administrative departments to shrink their budgets by 5% in response to shrinking enrollment, The Washington Post reports.
- George Washington University is one of the most expensive schools in the country, with a total sticker price of more than $60,000 per year, according to the article.
Dive Insight:
George Washington University’s cuts come just days after its fellow DC university, Howard, announced it would cut 84 staff positions. At George Washington, the cuts will affect its services, according to The Washington Post’s reporting, but the university is protecting its core educational and research mission. Colleges and universities across the country faced years of budget strain during the Great Recession, when donations, grants, and federal funding were harder to come by. Now, funding streams are stabilizing in some cases, but shrinking enrollment in certain programs is causing its own problems.