Principia has made a practice of extending a free education to students who come from various developing countries, a practice which could now be terminated in order to lessen mounting financial pressures currently facing the college.

The general education revamp committee is in administrative limbo, waiting for approval of a proposal that they say cannot work.
In light of budget cuts and potential faculty reductions, the reformative measure could be approved and forwarded to the next checkpoint, or it could be postponed indefinitely or denied.

College president Dr. Jonathan Palmer, along with other upper level Principia administrators, decided last week to defer several new faculty hires for one year. This decision, made public on Tuesday, February 10, was prompted by the unforeseen need to cut an additional $400,000 from Principia’s budget for the next fiscal year.

Palmer gave this explanation of the events leading up to the decision. In September of 2008, Principia’s plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009, included growing the budget by $1.1 million. As the economy faltered, however, it became clear that this plan was no longer feasible. Currently, Principia’s upper level administrators are looking to decrease the institution’s budget by 8.1% for next year in order to draw no more than 7% from the endowment.

It has been reported that Principia College will be introducing certain budget cuts as part of an effort to save more money. The general reaction from students on campus is that this news is understandable when the state of the nation’s economy is considered. Some expressed that budget cuts are a good idea as long as they are implemented with great thought, while others trust that things are already being taken care of.

In light of an uneasy economy and draining endowment, Principia is turning to budget cuts to secure its financial future.

The administration seeks to rein in costs by postponing many capital projects, examining and reducing department budgets, and reassessing finances.