Drexel University plans to layoff 60 staff members

Drexel University plans to layoff 60 processional staff employees or about 1.4% of its workforce in an effort to resolve, what a spokesperson called, a 10% imbalance to the school's operating budget.

In a statement on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2024, school spokesperson, Britt Faulstick, said the layoffs would only apply to staff members, not any of the school's faculty.

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"After careful analysis and in consultation with leadership from around the University, Drexel has made the difficult decision to reduce its workforce by 60 professional staff employees. While this represents less than 1.4% of Drexel’s workforce, the decision to lay off members of our professional staff is never made lightly," Faulstick said in a statement. "This is part of Drexel’s plan for resolving an approximate 10% imbalance in its operating budget in order to ensure resilience amid financial headwinds facing the higher education sector."

Along with this round of layoffs, officials said that about 155 or 3.6% of employees have opted into the voluntary retirement incentive program.

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"The key drivers of Drexel’s operating budget imbalance largely reflect the challenges impacting much of higher education right now: declining enrollments, as the numbers of college-age students in the region have declined; increased investments, both in financial aid to promote access and affordability and in student supports to ensure their success and well-being; and rising costs associated with running a university," read a statement from Faulstick.

In fact, Faulstick's statement claimed that the decline in first year enrollment has added $22 million to imbalance in the school's operating budget.

Drexel officials also said the school was "seriously impacted by the flawed rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid."