Amid Portland State budget cuts, a new plan for growth emerges

Instead of Portland State University cutting its way out of a $35 million budget shortfall, why not grow its way out?

For more than a year, union-represented faculty and staff at PSU have been on the defensive, calling on the school’s leaders to shift its perspective on how to deal with its nagging budget deficit.

They’ve argued that the top administrators’ stance on making Portland State a smaller institution will only hurt the university, not stabilize it. What’s really needed, they say, is a growth mindset.

Now it appears that PSU President Ann Cudd has been listening all along.

“We’ve worked very hard this year to assess our programs, departments and operations to find opportunities to become more financially sustainable without putting our enrollment at risk,” Cudd said at the university’s board of trustees meeting on Tuesday. “That is not good enough.”

Cudd unveiled a proposal to fund a three-year initiative designed to boost enrollment at the university and help steady PSU’s finances.

The plan focuses on increasing the school’s visibility throughout the state and bolstering the university’s brand, primarily through strategic marketing and communications campaigns.

“It’s important for everyone in the university community to know that we are not just focused on cost-cutting. We’re focused on growth,” she continued.

The plan’s ultimate goal is to attract more students and their tuition dollars to Portland State. Just over half of PSU’s operations revenue comes from student tuition.

The proposal says PSU’s current marketing and communications team is underresourced and understaffed, compared to similarly sized institutions — a reality that’s been noted by faculty and staff several times over the past year.

“[PSU] hasn’t done the right kind of investing in strategies that are necessary for public universities to succeed right now,” said PSU American Association of University Professors President Bill Knight.

PSU also spends less than a fifth — about 17% — on marketing and communications to comparable universities, according to board documents.

“Innovation can produce success,” Knight said. “So it’s good to see the university is moving toward growth. I really appreciate that.”

There’s currently no estimate on how much this proposed initiative might cost PSU. But the proposal currently calls for the university to vastly increase its marketing and communications budget from $240,000 to approximately $1.4 million annually.

The enrollment recovery plan is still in a draft phase and requires board approval to spend down university reserve funds. But board discussion on the proposal Tuesday leaned towards cautious optimism for the effort.

“Better days for the university are ahead,” said PSU trustee Marissa Madrigal, who acknowledged that the past year’s budget reduction exercises and impending layoffs have been difficult for the campus community.

“This is the kind of creative, forward-looking proposal that we need to see,” she said. “I personally fully support spending reserves on things like this because I think we’re gonna see a huge return on investment.”

Others on PSU’s board called for specific metrics to measure the enrollment plan’s outcomes, noted that enrollment alone cannot fix the university’s budget shortfall, and suggested a holistic review of how PSU’s budget cuts might end up working against the plan.

Trustee Robin Beavers said she looks forward to seeing how the proposal will evolve, but warned against putting “all of our eggs in one bucket for marketing.”

“Marketing alone isn’t going to increase enrollment,” she said. “It’s boots on the ground that are going to get students enrolled.”