Subject: [Staff-l] Message from the President and Provost — summer programs and financial challenges
From: Presidents Office <[email-masked]>
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 2020 10:07:05 -0700
List-Id: All-Staff mailing list <staff-l.lists.cca.edu>

Dear Colleagues,

We are writing today to expand on several updates that we shared in this
week’s all-faculty and all-staff meetings, including decisions regarding
summer programs, information about the impact of the pandemic on CCA’s
budget, and some measures we are taking to address the serious financial
challenges brought on by COVID–19.

First, we want to acknowledge the immense disruption we are all living
with, and the magnitude of your efforts to continue teaching and supporting
our students as they navigate this period of uncertainty, disappointment,
and change. Meeting with students this past week and hearing about their
experiences as we’ve shifted to remote teaching and learning, we were
reminded again and again of the heart, as well as the creativity and
expertise, you bring to your work.

From the earliest days of this crisis, the health and well-being of our
students, faculty, staff, and community has been the absolute priority that
guides each decision we make and every action we take, and it will always
remain so. Additionally, our actions are governed by our commitment to
CCA’s essential educational mission, and our responsibility to preserve the
financial security of the college so it may continue to serve this mission
for generations to come. These are the priorities that have guided the
difficult decisions outlined below.

Summer programs

Given the likelihood that some form of physical distancing will be
necessary for some time and the return to normal campus activity will not
be immediate, we are continuing the suspension of in-person programs and
classes through the summer. While some summer degree classes will be able
to take place remotely, all of our summer youth programs will be canceled.
We are currently considering options for our MDES and MFA Comics programs,
which start late in the summer, in case they cannot launch in person. We
know this raises many questions about specific programs and the services
that support them, and we will share more information as decisions are made
in the coming weeks.

Just as we will not return to in-person instruction until we are confident
it is safe to do so, we will continue to follow the recommendations of
state and local public health officials regarding when members of the CCA
community who are currently working remotely may safely return to campus.

Meeting financial challenges

CCA entered this period of unprecedented challenges from a place of
financial stability. We achieved this by maintaining balanced annual
operating budgets, a practice that undergirds our institution and provides
confidence to the entire CCA community, including the Board of Trustees and
generous donors to the college. Balanced operating budgets are foundational
to securing a healthy future for CCA. Since this public health crisis hit
in March, it has become increasingly clear that securing a balanced budget
for the upcoming year will depend on taking decisive, significant steps to
reduce expenses in alignment with anticipated reductions in revenue.

We are projecting a loss of revenue in the current fiscal year (FY2020,
ending June 30) related to the impact of COVID–19. Further, the cancelation
of this summer’s programs will result in about $3 million of lost revenue
from tuition and housing. While we don’t yet know the scale of the
pandemic’s impact on fall enrollment, we are modeling a number of potential
scenarios and, like other colleges and universities, we anticipate a
significant decline in new and continuing students. Our models indicate the
potential of at least a $9 million deficit for FY2021. In order to achieve
a balanced budget, the college must also prepare for a corresponding
reduction of expenses for FY2021 of $9 million—about 10% of CCA’s total
annual operating budget.

CCA has committed to continuing to pay all faculty, regular staff, and
student employees at current levels through May 15, when we complete our
spring term.

Looking ahead as we plan for this extraordinarily challenging time, we are
examining our budget from every angle and are calling on our community to
pull together to reduce expenses and conserve financial resources.
Following are several measures we have implemented thus far:

Senior leadership pay reduction and retirement plan pause: President Beal
and the college’s senior vice presidents are taking pay reductions of 25%
and 10% respectively, for the remainder of this fiscal year and extending
as long as necessary. They also will give up the college’s 5% match of
salary contributions to their 403(b) retirement accounts.

Hiring freeze: We are indefinitely extending a pause in ranked faculty
appointments and staff hiring that has been in place since early March.
With a very few exceptions to replace vacancies in critical positions, no
new searches will be launched and current vacancies will not be filled.

Non-essential travel and discretionary spending: The suspension of
non-essential travel that has been in place for several weeks will continue
indefinitely. We are also asking all vice presidents to review their
budgets for the current and upcoming fiscal years, and reduce discretionary
spending that is not critical to student learning outcomes or essential
campus operations.

Capital projects: Capital projects are not funded from CCA’s annual
operating budget. Work continues on Founders Hall, our student housing at
188 Hooper Street, which is still on schedule to open this fall.
Construction on Double Ground is currently on hold under the San Francisco
public health order. We will be in touch with more details on the
construction start date as we learn more.

We will communicate details about additional measures in the coming weeks.
Before decisions are reached we will consult regularly with the senior
cabinet, our Board of Trustees, academic leaders, and representatives from
our two distinct SEIU bargaining units (unranked faculty and staff).

Many private colleges and universities across the country, facing similar
budget challenges, have already announced or implemented widespread payroll
reduction measures, including furloughs, long-term layoffs, and benefits
reductions. We are in the process of determining the extent of payroll and
other expense reductions that will be needed at CCA.

Before May 15 we will announce measures necessary to achieve a balanced
budget. Our decisions will be guided by our academic mission and our CCA
values, and we will do all in our power to make the best possible
decisions—socially, ethically, and economically—to support our students,
our excellent faculty and staff, and the future security of the college.

We recognize this news is difficult to hear, and it raises many questions
to which we do not yet have answers. In an effort to provide clear and
consistent communication as this situation evolves, we will share timely
information with you on a regular basis. CCA’s Communications office has
also set up a designated email address, [email-masked], where you may
submit questions, which will be answered as quickly and thoroughly as
possible. Human Resources questions may be directed to [email-masked]. And
the COVID–19
Portal page
<https://portal.cca.edu/thriving/health-wellness/novel-coronavirus-covid19/>
continues to be a repository of resources and information for the CCA
community.

Once again, thank you for your resilience, your resourcefulness, and the
kindness and respect with which you are supporting our students and one
another through this difficult time for our world, our country, and our
college.

Sincerely,

Stephen Beal

President

Tammy Rae Carland

Provost
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