USC budget caps tuition, implements cost-cutting measures

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The University of South Carolina has approved a $1.63 billion budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year which does not raise tuition and includes several cost-saving measures to offset revenue lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tuition will remain at $6,344 per semester for in-state students and $16,964 for out-of-state students in a budget approved Friday by the university’s board of trustees. The university said it will delay capital construction projects and merit raises for faculty and implement furloughs in the top 25% of its salary scale ($118,000 and higher) in anticipation of a loss of more than $100 million in revenue.

Last month, the university announced cost-cutting measures including a 10% voluntary pay reduction for President Bob Caslen and his cabinet, along with top coaches and athletic director Ray Tanner.

“The budget outlook before us is more serious than any the university has faced since the Great Recession,” Caslen said in a news release. ‘The good news is we are prepared for the challenge, and through the hard work of our staff, we will successfully reopen campus in the fall without passing the cost on to students and families.”

The university will also eliminate employee overtime, defer noncritical maintenance and fill only critical positions.