University of Missouri faces $60M budget hole amid cuts

This photo taken Nov. 9, 2015, shows a University of Missouri student walking across the bridge over Providence Road.
This photo taken Nov. 9, 2015, shows a University of Missouri student walking across the bridge over Providence Road.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- The University of Missouri is facing a $60 million budget shortfall on its Columbia campus under a worst-case scenario for state support and enrollment.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that Chancellor Alexander Cartwright held a campus faculty meeting Monday to discuss a report recommending the campus close nearly 30 graduate programs. The meeting also included discussing the financial straits the university faces in the coming year.

The university released in January the report by the Task Force on Academic Program Analysis, Enhancement and Opportunities that cited low numbers of applicants, graduates, academic output or grant production as reasons for shuttering 27 programs.

Faculty passed a resolution Monday asking Cartwright to create a formal process for addressing the recommendations. Cartwright says he'll decide on the recommendations by the end of spring semester.