Contingency Planning – New & Returning Students
June 14, 2011
MEMORANDUM
TO: Minnesota State University Moorhead Students
FROM: President Edna Mora Szymanski
RE: State Budget Impact on System
By now, you may be aware of the current budget debate affecting state government. At this time, most of state government has not been funded for the new fiscal year starting on July 1; negotiations to resolve the deadlock continue between the Legislature and the Governor. I am writing to bring you up to date on the possible impact of this situation on the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, which includes Minnesota State University Moorhead.
The Board of Trustees is the governing body responsible for this system and all of its institutions. Our Board held an emergency meeting on Wednesday, June 8, to discuss the state’s budget negotiations and its possible impact on our colleges and universities. The Board took the following action:
The Board supports the goal of continued operation of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system without interruption of instruction or services to students using available tuition, fees and reserve funds until a state budget agreement is reached. The Board further supports the pursuit of any administrative or other options deemed appropriate by the Chancellor to facilitate the continued operation of the System in Fiscal Year 2012 and prepare for a possible system shutdown.
Please be assured that we are making every effort to continue providing you service and instruction. For our students, if you are a new entering freshman or transfer, please consider attending a June Dragon Day (6/15 – 6/18) to secure your fall classes. If it is not possible to register on the July Dragon Days, you can register for your fall classes on August 16 for transfers and August 17 for freshman. If you are a returning student and have not yet registered for fall classes, we encourage you to do so as soon as possible. Please contact the MSUM Business Office if you have any financial holds on your account.
We also are making contingent plans in the event classes or other campus activities must be canceled; this includes providing layoff notices to many of our employees. We hope we will be able to rescind those notices and avoid any interruption in our service to you.
To keep both students and employees up to date regarding this situation, we have created a website where you can check for updated information, as follows: http://www.chancellor.mnscu.edu/employee/contingency_prep/index.html. We encourage you to check this website frequently for current information or check with campus administration if you have additional questions. We will do the best we can to provide up-to-date information but also realize that we do not have answers for some of the questions that will be raised.
For international students and students who are in summer study abroad programs, please know that we are keenly aware of your special circumstances and will be taking steps specifically to address them.
Once again, we will do everything we can to ensure you can complete your studies without interruption.