Suffolk University laid off 35 people earlier this summer

In June, Suffolk University laid off 35 employees, joining an increasing number of local colleges and universities that are reducing their workforces due to budgetary constraints and changing federal regulations.

In April, President Marisa Kelly informed staff at a meeting that Suffolk will have to reduce its spending for the upcoming fiscal year, which would probably mean some jobs would be eliminated.

School administrators discovered between April and June that both new and returning pupils are in significantly more financial need than in previous years. Kelly penned a letter to her coworkers on June 10.

This week, a university representative verified the changes to Boston.com.

More funding was required from Suffolk than was first anticipated. Kelly identified that as the primary cause of layoffs, along with declining enrollment of international students. She attributed the slowdown in overseas student enrollment to changes in federal policy.

According to Kelly’s letter, these actions are required since it is doubtful that the difficulties facing our industry will be resolved very soon.

As demonstrated in the instance of Tufts student R. Meysa Zt Rk, the Trump administration has revoked student visas and threatened to deport foreign students for their political expression. International students are turning to other nations instead as a result of this, significant reductions in financing for academic research, and other measures.

Kelly added that opinions on the worth of a college degree are changing. Last year, thePew Research Centerfound that about half of Americans think it is less important to have a four-year college degree today in order to get a well-paying job than it was 20 years ago. In addition, young adults without college degrees are now outperforming their predecessors in a number of important indicators.

Thus, universities and colleges are making reductions. Non-teaching employees in New England are especially impacted, according to a recent Boston Globe article. More than 100 faculty and staff members have been laid off at institutions including Boston University and Clark University, which have been especially affected.

Staff numbers have been rising at higher education institutions for years, leading to concerns aboutadministrative bloat. The hiring differences between professional administrative staff and instructors was extremely notable at Suffolk. The Globe reports that the institution increased its full-time professional staff by 24% between 2018 and 2022, but lost 8% of its full-time academics during that time.

In June, Kelly stated that absent a major change in the fall enrollment picture, Suffolk would not be able to offer a general wage raise pool for fiscal 2026. She also mentioned that Kelly herself is taking a pay decrease for the fiscal year.

In her letter, Kelly aimed to convey optimism while warning that reaching financial stability would take time.

She remarked that it is our duty to make sure that we serve our students and alumni for many years to come. Our long-term financial stability will be ensured by the actions we are doing right now, such as cutting the budget, making sure that areas where enrollment will rise this year receive enough support, preparing for ongoing innovation, and creating new revenue streams. It will take time to explore some of those options.

Since 2022, Ross Cristantiello has been a general assignment news correspondent for Boston.com, covering a variety of topics such as local politics, crime, and the environment.