Higher education faces wave of layoffs

USC faculty, staff and students remain concerned over cuts across various departments.

(Bella Hoffman / Daily Trojan)

Co-written with Hanna Karasinska. - Originally published by The Daily Trojan.

In recent months, mass layoffs among faculty and staff have emerged at USC, tied to its operating deficit and threats to federal funding. By the end of October, the University cut more than 900 positions, including significant layoffs of academic advisors at multiple schools as part of departmental restructuring.

The layoffs have brought about uncertainty among the community about the University’s future. The layoffs were first signaled by the University in a July letter to staff and faculty from interim President Beong-Soo Kim. In the letter, Kim acknowledged a more than $200 million operating deficit from fiscal year 2025 and warned that the gap was “unsustainable” without transforming USC’s operating model.

“Everyone is extremely concerned about the impact that these layoffs will have,” said Aro Velmet, an associate professor of history at Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and vice chair of USC’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors. 

The fallout at USC mirrors a wave sweeping higher education nationwide. In a July letter similar to the one written by USC’s Interim President Kim, the administration at Northwestern stated the need to reduce the university’s budget attributable to staff by 5% and thus eliminate approximately 425 staff positions. 

“These are very rich, very wealthy institutions,” said Mia McIver, the nationwide executive director of AAUP. A Daily Trojan article published in March reported that USC budget cuts don’t align with the high level of hiring of administrators.  

Similarly, Professor Howard Bunsis of Eastern Michigan University analyzed USC’s finances and found the university to be in “very strong financial condition.” His analysis showed that USC’s net assets have grown from $7.5 billion in 2014 to $11.7 billion in 2024. 

Bunsis described the administration’s portrayal of its finances as “overly pessimistic,” citing positive cash flow margins, a strong primary reserve ratio, and stable bond ratings as evidence that the university remains financially secure despite its claims of hardship.

McIver said colleges should put faculty at the forefront of budget reconsiderations. 

More faculty and staff have continued to be laid off while tuition and fees have increased, making USC one of the most expensive schools in the nation, according to an article by the Los Angeles Times.

Poluk Sharma, a sophomore studying computer science and business, said she has already felt the impacts of the layoffs. 

“Last semester, I had my specific [computer science] advisor reach out to me, give me my course plan [and] get everything settled,” Sharma said. “This semester, I wasn’t given any of that.” 

With fewer academic advisors, the ones remaining are left to cover more students, according to Velmet. 

“The more people move out of departments and into a model where they’re serving several departments that they perhaps don’t know as well, also means that they won’t be able to give individual, specific attention to students,” Velmet said. 

Non-tenure track faculty, in particular, remain the most vulnerable, as sudden layoffs with little warning create what McIver described as a “real chilling impact” on morale. 

Looking ahead, McIver said the AAUP recommends that USC focus on budget transparency and prioritizes open communication with its faculty and staff as opposed to unilateral decisions from the upper administration. 

Sharma also said the University should communicate more with students about layoffs.

“At the moment, on the student side, admin hasn’t been too terrible about [transparency], but if it continues, I can see it being a lot more messy,” Sharma said.

McIver pointed to AAUP guidelines, which require institutions like USC to provide true financial urgency before resorting to faculty layoffs, and that faculty should be involved “from start to finish” in the process. 

As a solution, McIver said institutions like USC could aim to avoid job losses through working with unions. 

“I know from my experience within higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic that there are definitely examples of administrators who did take that approach and averted the risk of job losses,” McIver said. 

By restoring that sense of cooperation, McIver said USC and other universities could build trust in their community, from upper administration to faculty, students and staff. 

“Colleges and universities should always be providing jobs with dignity and be respectful of their workers,” McIver said.

According to Velmet, the primary concern among students and faculty is the worry that students’ academic experience could be negatively impacted by having less individualized support and a higher strain on faculty and staff to support more students. 

“[What] faculty are looking for is to have input into this new hub model so that we don’t end up in a situation where departments have to work with an administrative model that’s not actually tailored for their students,” Velmet said. 

The new model will focus on training staff to better assist students across multiple disciplines as opposed to individual advisors. In a Nov. 3 email to USC faculty, Interim President Kim wrote these changes are part of an effort to “reduce internal friction points and inefficiencies.” 

“Students will suffer, and the faculty, who then have to shoulder this work that is no longer being done by staff, also suffer,” Velmet said.