Castleton University announces staff layoffs

CASTLETON, Vt. (AP) - Castleton University in Vermont has announced staff layoffs as part of an effort to close a $1.5 million operating loss.

University officials cited “enrollment realities” Thursday when announcing that it has cut 10 positions, the Rutland Herald reported.

University Dean of Advancement Jeff Weld said most of the cuts were support positions.

“The staff layoffs were designed in a way to minimize the impact on the students, to minimize the impact on the core necessities of operating the university,” he said.

Since February, the university, which has about 450 full-time and part-time employees, has been looking at ways to keep school sustainable. Three faculty task forces were created to develop new program and review existing ones.

“While we are saddened that some our staffing levels are affected by this process, we have maintained our focus on our students first and foremost throughout this process and ultimately we feel strongly that the number of positions affected was minimized through strong collaboration,” president Karen Scolforo said.

The school is considering adding master’s degree programs in nursing, criminal justice and business and undergraduate programs such as archaeology, computer science, occupational therapy assistant and physical therapy assistant. Castleton also has developed new programs to attract students, such as scholarships for students from nearby out-of-state counties, grants for poor students with high academic ability, and transfer agreements with out-of-state community colleges like SUNY-Adirondack and SUNY-Orange, the Rutland Herald reported.

“We need to have a better mix. We had been relying on traditionally Vermont students to really fill our enrollment, Weld said. “As that number decreases, you need to fill in with transfer students, with nontraditional deliveries, with graduate students, international students. We’re trying to meet those enrollments.”

Weld said the changes would be positive for the school.

“We’re going to be a mainstay here in Vermont,” he said. “We’re going to be a mainstay here in Rutland County and beyond. We believe in what we do at Castleton. We believe it’s important. We believe that we’re transforming students’ lives.”

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Information from: Rutland Herald, http://www.rutlandherald.com/