President Andy Feinstein announced the University of Northern Colorado is pausing all hiring efforts for new and vacant positions on January 24.
The pause was implemented to avoid layoffs. The financial team is looking through all the hiring efforts that were in progress when the pause began and have started to approve some positions. They will continue looking over the hiring process for the semester. The pause will not affect student employees.
Dale Pratt, vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer, explained the pause is to make sure the college has money in case something arises.
“You all have a budget where your account’s balance gets to a certain level and you start to get nervous,” Pratt said. “Like I can’t spend anything until payday. That’s what we're trying to avoid.”
“We need to be able to respond to the needs of the institution at a moment in time that may not align with our payments.” Feinstein said.
In a Budget Town Hall meeting, Feinstein reviewed the 2026 budget. Currently there is a $750 million shortfall. Feinstein explained this is because higher education in Colorado continues to get low funding from the state.
“The challenge is that much of the revenue and much of the budget in Colorado is earmarked for statues,” Feinstein said. “And higher education is at the tail end of funding priorities in the state.”
Feinstein does feel confident that with the college of Osteopathic medicine less than a year away, the university will see improvement in revenue in the next few years.
He is trying to avoid raising tuition as a means of balancing the budget and the pause will allow him to do so.
Overall, Feinstein does remain positive that the university can stay strong in the face of financial pressure.
