Winthrop budget freeze saves $1 million

A ten percent spending freeze decree at Winthrop University in September 2014  has saved the institution roughly $1 million to date, acting president and provost Debra Boyd said Friday.

The freeze, first made public September 16, would redirect the fund frozen to a temporary account, and give the university’s administration the ability to revisit its internal priorities.

No direct funds tied to student programming were affected in the freeze, Boyd said in September, nor would it affect the university’s personnel budget.

“I do think it has cause a lot of good creative thinking and critical thinking about what we do and how we do it. It has allowed people to understand that we do have institutional priorities and that they can get support for their work related to those priorities,” Boyd said Friday.

The university’s budget topped $116 million for the year ending June 30, 2014, and this year, included a 2.84 percent increase in tuition, the lowest increase since the year 2000. Room and board fees increased 4 percent.

The savings the university has realized since September will play a role in the university’s 2015-16 budget process, Boyd said, and will be included in the Executive Budget request to Gov. Nikki Haley’s office later this month.