University of Hawai'i President David McClain says he will seek pay cuts for faculty and administrators as part of a developing plan to address about $155 million in budget cuts over the next two years.

The statement came yesterday during testimony before a joint hearing of the state House and Senate Committees on Higher Education.

McClain said university officials are also considering an early retirement program as part of a multi-faceted approach to budget cuts. Furloughs may also be considered once legal challenges are settled.

UH-Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw added that the flagship Manoa campus has not renewed about 150 adjunct instructors, nontenured faculty and administrative personnel.

About 500 class sections are on hold, which could mean increased competition to get into courses, Hinshaw said. A class section refers to one of several classes that cover the same subject. For example, English 100 may have 20 sections, all which have roughly the same content.

Based on cuts made by the state Legislature and Gov. Linda Lingle's furlough plan, UH's 10-campus system faces trimming about $76 million from its annual $470 million budget next year.

UH also expects $79 million in cuts in fiscal year 2011.

The budget cuts come as the university's campuses are experiencing record enrollment. Enrollment at all 10 campuses is expected to top 60,000 students in the fall, up from 53,500 last year.

Much of the university's response to budget reductions hinges on legal challenges to the governor's furlough plans. Lingle cannot furlough employees at the state Department of Education or the University of Hawai'i, since they are governed by independent boards. Instead, she is restricting UH's budget by the equivalent of three furlough days a month, which amounts to about $52 million in fiscal year 2010 and $54 million in fiscal year 2011.

TOUGH CHOICES

McClain said cutting salaries could help the university avoid program cuts.

"To the extent that we are able to take care of this with some reductions in compensation levels for executives — and also for everyone else — that mitigates what campuses have to do programmatically," McClain told lawmakers.

McClain said the university is discussing terms of a new contract with the University of Hawai'i Professional Assembly, which represents more than 3,000 faculty members.

Last year, UHPA members received an 11 percent pay increase under their existing contract, which expired yesterday.

J.N. Musto, executive director of UHPA, said pay cuts are a short-term solution that could have long-term consequences on academic programs.

"The state of Hawai'i must decide how much higher education it can afford and how much it is willing to pay for it," Musto said. "There is no way to continue the same level of higher education if fundamentally the level of state support is going to be so radically reduced."

Lawmakers also expressed concern about plans from the various UH campus chancellors to cut adjunct faculty, reduce programs and consolidate academic offerings.

"Given the essential nature of the services you provide to the state, are we, by allowing this to happen, crippling the capacity of the university and community colleges?" asked state Sen. Dwight Takamine, D-1st (Hamakua, S. Hilo). "Should we allow this to happen to the university?"

Hinshaw said the Manoa campus will be taking a disproportionate share of the $76 million in cuts in the coming year — about $50 million.

STUDENT IMPACTS

In addition to cutting staff and reducing class sections, Hinshaw said the campus is reviewing its program offerings and may consolidate academic divisions to save money.

"The impact on students is there. There is no doubt about it," she said.

Manoa officials had originally planned for about $36 million in budget cuts, which were approved during the past legislative session. But the governor's labor restrictions added some $30 million more for Manoa to cut, she said.

"Dealing with the additional $30 million, we don't have definitive ways to do that because we have limited options," Hinshaw said.

Hinshaw also said she's concerned about what budget cuts could mean for obtaining research grants.

"Every day, UH-Manoa faculty, staff and students generate $1 million in research. Every single day of the year. And they've done that consistently for the last four years," she said.

The university's system of seven community college campuses will see an enrollment surge of nearly 25 percent while having to simultaneously cut more than $14 million from its budget, under the governor's plan.

UH Vice President for Community Colleges John Morton said campuses are adding nearly 500 additional class sections.

"Even though there is great uncertainty with the restriction from the governor, we're committed to doing this," Morton said.

"These people who are signing up for these classes are desperately trying to get out of this economic downturn and see education as a way for them to be able to do that. We want to be there for them."