Minnesota State Mankato to undergo layoffs, hike tuition amid $22M shortfall

Dive Brief:

Minnesota State University, Mankato plans to cut 60 positions, including through laying off 17 employees, to help address a $22 million budget shortfall over the next two years, the institution announced this week.
“The financial imbalance we face is structural,” Minnesota State Mankato President Edward Inch said in a video message to campus, adding that operating costs “have continued to rise while tuition revenue and state support have not kept pace.” 
University officials also pointed out in an online message that Minnesota State Mankato is projected to receive less state support in fiscal 2027 per full-time equivalent student than its peers — $4,574 versus an average of $6,183 across the system’s seven public universities. 

Dive Insight:

Minnesota State Mankato’s moves will reduce the university’s workforce by about 1.2%. Along with layoffs, the university plans to eliminate 15 vacant positions, keep another 20 empty and offer early retirement packages to eight employees. 

Employees impacted by the layoffs will be notified in late August. 

Four unions representing university employees blasted the announcement in a joint statement. 

“Out of 60 targeted positions, an overwhelming majority strike directly at frontline faculty and support staff, while only two administrative positions are affected,” the unions said Tuesday. “Eliminating frontline staff does not eliminate work — it simply shifts unsustainable workloads onto remaining employees while protecting top leadership.”

Nicole Juan, president of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, likewise said in a Thursday statement that budget cuts should not be “balanced on the backs of your hardworking employees.”

Minnesota State Mankato is planning on other measures to cut expenses, including eliminating 21 graduate assistant positions and reducing purchases of equipment. 

On the revenue side, officials approved a 6.37% tuition increase for the 2027 fiscal year, which is expected to bring in an additional $6 million. 

That comes on top of an 8% tuition hike implemented in 2025. That year, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system approved the largest tuition increases in almost two decades in response to a large budget hole, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported.

Other revenue increasing measures include charging fees for credit card payments, expanding graduate offerings to align with workforce needs and growing online programs, officials said. 

Unlike many other regional public universities, Minnesota State Mankato’s budget woes haven’t resulted from enrollment declines. Officials said this week that enrollment at the university is near record highs, with roughly 18,700 students in attendance in the fiscal 2026 year. 

But state funding hasn’t kept pace, according to the university. 

State lawmakers appropriated nearly $1.8 billion to the Minnesota State system for the 2025-2027 biennium, marking a decline from the nearly $1.9 billion appropriated to the 33-institution system for the prior two years. 

“The state faces a projected deficit for the next biennium, and legislators have a difficult task to balance the many needs of the state with relatively few resources,” Minnesota State Mankato said in a post this week. “This means that any significant increase in higher education funding appears unlikely in the near term.” 

The university’s latest austerity measures come on top of program and employee cuts the year before. Minnesota State Mankato officials cut nearly 100 programs — about 30% of its total offerings — last year in a bid to address budgetary issues, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported. The university also announced plans last year to lay off seven tenured faculty members, according to the publication.